Light in the Dark
by SnapeFanatic1
Summary: Snape receives a surprise when he arrives for what he thought was going to be a regular Death Eater meeting. Takes place at the beginning of Hermione's sixth year. Rated M for later chapters.
1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1

Dark Surprises

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**Disclaimer: **I do not own Harry Potter, Severus Snape nor Hermione Granger. I wish I did, but I don't. 

**Arthur's Note:**I hope you enjoy this chapter! I had more fun writing this chapter than all of the chapters from Snape or Potter combined. For all of you who love or like that story, don't worry- I'll still finish it, but I have more fun with this story, so that means more updates for this one. Please Review and as always enjoy! Happy Holidays!!

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Snape was working on a basic Pepper-up Potion in his private lab. His whole mind wasn't really in it, since he'd made the Pepper-Up Potion about a million times; it didn't require him to be all there. 

He was just about to add a cup of bail root when he was knocked out of his trance-like state by a sharp pain coming from his forearm. The mark seared for a second before it slowly died away, leaving his heart pumping fast from the sudden onslaught of pain.

"Damn," sneered Snape. Why did the Dark Lord always have to call when he was in the middle of a potion?

Snape slipped out his wand and put a charm over the potion to keep it in limbo before he cut the flame. And with a silent summoning charm he called forth his silver death eater's mask and his black hooded cloak.

Snape made his way swiftly from his private lab, through the god forsaken potions classroom and into the dungeon's dark halls. After looking around and assuring himself that no one was coming, he slipped his robe and mask into an inside pocket.

Now all he had to do was get out before Dumbledore noticed him leaving.

All Snape wanted was to be able to go straight to bed after a meeting. He hated going to see the Headmaster after one; the fool knew nothing of what he went through there. All he seemed to care about was the information that Snape brought him.

Oh, sure. The Headmaster cared about the wellbeing of his spy, but the Headmaster didn't have a clue how much work it was to be a spy, not really. The Headmaster understood how hard it was for Snape to lie to the Dark Lord, but he didn't understand how hard it was to act the part day in and day out. Nobody could really sympathize with that.

After reaching the moonlit grounds of Hogwarts, Snape made his way as swiftly and as silently as possible over to the main gates.

The full moon shone high above, illuminating the gates as he neared them. He had almost reached the gates when there was a slight breeze. In front of him, blocking his way to the gates, was a bright silvery phoenix.

Snape had to stop himself from rolling his eyes. That meddling fool had noticed his absence! Only a few more seconds and he would have been out of the gate.

"What do you want, Headmaster? I need to go. You know the Dark Lord doesn't except tardiness," sneered Snape. The thought of his last time when he had been tardy made him wince. Snape was used to being cursed, but that night had been a bad night to be late. The Dark Lord had been in a horribly foul mood.

"I know, Severus," replied the phoenix in Dumbledore's calm voice, "just try to be safe and please report back to me as soon as you get back. I have a feeling that this is an important meeting."

Snape actually rolled his eyes at this; the Headmaster always said that he had a feeling that this meeting or the next meting would be an important one. He didn't know if there was ever going to be a meeting that the Headmaster didn't consider important.

"Fine," spat Snape, "but don't expect a warm conversation from me."

"I never do, Severus," sighed the phoenix.

Reaching up the sleeve of his robe, Snape pulled out his wand and vanished the phoenix with a slash. He then moved through the remaining mist to the gates, where he stopped for just a second to undo the wards and, with a flick of his wand, the gates opened.

Snape glared at the gates as he passed through. It was almost like they were the gates that opened up to welcome him to hell. The moon overhead only heightened that idea.

Once outside the grounds, Snape paused to reinforce the wards before closing the gates that would keep out any unwelcome visitor, should one happen to come along.

Snape walked for another minute or so to the apparation point located just outside the nearby forest.

Before disapparating, Snape donned his Death Eater cloak and mask, calmed his mind and erected more barriers. Then, focusing on the pain in his arm, he disapparated to the Dark Lord's side.

Seconds later, Snape reappeared with a crack. Looking around, he found himself at the bottom of a small green hill. The breeze brought him the smell of lavender as he started to walk up the slope. Snape looked around and noticed that they were near a small village, one that he had visited on occasion.

Sooner than he would have liked, he found himself at the top of the lavender covered hill. A circle of hooded figures stood near the center, but there was a gap left open for him.

Falling to his knees, Snape crawled into the space left to him in a ring of dark cloaks and masks.

"My Lord," he choked out, "Please forgive my lateness. That meddlesome fool who calls himself the Headmaster wanted a bottle of Dreamless sleep. Naturally, I gave it to him, though I made it a little stronger than he might have liked, but it will keep him out for the night."

The pale figure in the middle of the circle glowed from the light of the moon. Red eyes glinted and a smile appeared on his face.

"Tonight, Severus, I will forgive your lateness, but do not disappoint me again. I want you here on time next time I call," rasped the Dark Lord in an evil whisper.

"Yes, my Lord, you are too kind."

The Dark Lord smirked. "Rise, my friend. We have a lot to discuss tonight."

Snape rose from the ground, hating the figure that stood like a god in front of him for making him grovel like a house elf.

"Tonight, my friends, I have received the surprise of my life, and you all know how much I usually hate surprises."

Silent laughter rippled though the circle. The Dark Lord smirked and continued.

"But tonight, my friends, my loyal Death Eaters, I received a very welcome surprise, a very nice gift as it were from one of my loyal Death Eaters. Lucius, bring her forward."

Snape's ears perked and his heart raced. Who the hell did Lucius get his filthy hands on? He had a feeling that he wasn't going to like who it was no matter what.

Lucius mask was off and the smug bastard looked as happy as if Christmas had come early. In front of him, glaring at everyone in the circle, bruises dotting her face and arms, was…Miss Granger.

She was pushed to her knees at the Dark Lord's feet and to Snape it looked like the girl was looking up at the Dark Lord with admiration. Something is definitely off, thought Snape.

"Lucius tells me that you have come willingly, Mudblood. Tell me, why is this?" asked the Dark Lord in a silky voice.

"My Lord, please, I want to serve you. I wish to bring you Harry Potter," spat the girl. "He is nothing compared to you, my Lord, please, I can bring you Potter and I can do so much more for you…"

Her sentence hung in the night's breeze as the trees seemed to stop swaying at these words.

"Bring me Harry Potter... that would be a great gift, Mudblood," whisper the Dark Lord. "But what use is a Mudblood to me; you are nothing more then a filthy muggle with powers."

"Please, my Lord, I agree that mudbloods have no right to even lick the dirt from your shoes, but I have proof that I am no Mudblood," whispered the girl.

At these words, murmurs rippled through the group that watched the girl who knelt in the moonlight. Her face was filled of joy at the apparent knowledge that she wasn't a Mudblood. To Snape, it seemed like the girl was proud to kneel before the Dark Lord and be at his mercy with these facts laid bare.

"Not a Mudblood," whispered the Dark Lord. "This night is indeed filled with pleasant surprises. Explain, girl!"

The girl looked up and made eye contact with the Dark Lord, allowing him to not only hear her story, but see its proof in her mind.

"Yes, my Lord. Well, it all started when I was forced by my filthy muggle parents to donate blood two weeks ago. They were testing to see what my blood type was and, to my surprise, I had blood type AB, which isn't possible considering that both of my parents are type O negative. My parents didn't notice and, after I had finished at the blood bank and after I had gotten home, I waited until my parents were asleep before I searched the house to find my birth certificate. I searched in vain for two nights. On the third night, I snuck out of the house and broke into our bank ,which held our safety deposit box. After searching through many papers, I found my birth certificate. I am neither Mudblood nor am I even closely related to the Grangers," spat the girl. "I'm half- blood, I am a Malfoy."

There was no noise. Silence filled the hilltop. The breeze seemed to freeze. Leaves that had been blowing about froze in mid-dance. The Dark Lord looked down at the girl kneeling at his feet. The closest thing to a smile slid across the pale face, red eyes glittering in the moonlight.

"A Malfoy, that is very interesting," whispered the Dark Lord. "Lucius, did you know before you brought the girl here that she was a Malfoy?"

Lucius stepped forward from the circle, cold gray eyes looked disdainfully down at the bushy-haired girl. "Yes, my Lord," drawled Lucius, "the girl came to me last week. It seems that right after she found out, she attempted to test whether or not she was indeed a Malfoy. She attempted to get a sample of my blood without using detectable magic," smirked Lucius. "Of course she failed miserably, so I stunned her and took her back to my Mansion. After questioning I found out what she was up to and I tested her blood, and she is indeed a Malfoy, though she is still_ only_ a half-blood."

"Only a half-blood, you say?" The Dark Lord's face seemed amused, or as amused as a snake-like face could look. "Severus might disagree with you on that point, am I correct, Severus?"

"Yes, my Lord," answered Snape without expression, although he struggled not to roll his eyes. The Dark Lord never tired of that subject.

"Why is it, Lucius, that you took so long to bring me this, beautiful," the Dark Lord stared down at the girl, red eyes glinting, "piece of information?"

The girl stared up at the Dark Lord with a slight smile on her lips.

"My Lord," Lucius lost his usually drawling voice, "I, I, there were complications and it took longer then I thought to test her blood…."

"Enough," The Dark Lords eyes turned cold, "Lucius, you disappoint me."

And in a blink of an eye the Dark Lord had brought up his wand and had it pointed at Lucius. And before Lucius could make a noise, the Dark Lord shouted, "_Crucio_!"

Lucius's screams filled the surrounding air as he dropped to the ground. His black cane fell to the Dark Lord's feet as he writhed on the ground. The sleek blonde hair seemed to have a mind of its own as its owner thrashed.

Then, just as suddenly as it had started, the Dark Lord lifted the curse.

"Now, Lucius, I hope that you have learned your lesson. One more slip up and you may find yourself back in a cell in Azkaban."

"Yes, my Lord," drawled Lucius as he stood up, righted his hair, and grabbed his cane. "I live to serve."

"See that you serve me better in the future. Don't disappoint me again."

The Dark Lord turned his red eyes to the girl kneeling at his feet. A smile lit his eyes but somehow made the pale face look madder than anything.

"Miss Malfoy," whispered the Dark Lord in a marginally kinder voice, "please stand."

The girl rose slowly to her feet, but kept her head down in a natural bow.

Smart girl, thought Snape, now just don't do anything stupid and you can get back alive. And, if possible, I can take you to Hogwarts.

The Dark Lord continued, "Miss Malfoy, you say that you want to give me Potter. As lovely as that would be, I would hate for you to risk your education at Hogwarts... though you are no doubt smart enough to work undetected. For now, I will wait for Potter to come to me; there are more pressing matters at hand. But we can talk of that later. As for now, I don't know what we can do with you."

There was silence. Snape hoped that the girl would take the opportunity and escape. Somehow, though, he knew that this was the moment Hermione'd been waiting for since she got to the circle of Death Eaters.

"My Lord, there is only thing that I want," whispered the girl in an excited voice. "I want to be branded with the Dark Mark; I want to carry your symbol. You are the only one that I wish to remain loyal to, and I would be deeply honored if you could grant me this one wish."

The silence deepened. Nobody had ever been branded on their first trip to see the Dark Lord, yet here this girl sat practically begging for it.

Snape couldn't think of anything worse that the girl could have asked for. She was only, what, fifteen, sixteen, about to enter her sixth year at Hogwarts, and here she knelt asking to take the Mark, the Mark that had been a curse to him for as long as he could remember.

The Dark Lord stared down at the girl, eyes glinting, a smirk grazing his lips. He seemed deep in thought, but Snape knew that he had already made his decision and that he was just lengthening the silence for effect.

Finally he spoke, "Then it is done."

The girl looked up, excitement written across her face, though Snape thought for a second that he saw a flash of fear in the girl's eyes, but when he looked again there was nothing but excitement in them.

The girl got back down on her knees and held up her left arm palm up, her hand closed into a fist.

Taking hold of the girl's wrist, the Dark Lord caressed the pale skin that lay exposed. With the other hand, the Dark Lord brought up his wand and touched the tip to the girl's skin.

"Morsemordre!"

There was a flash of green light and from the point of the Dark Lord's wand black lines streamed out, marring the girls flesh, burning it black.

The girl didn't scream, but it clear that she was in pure agony, for she seemed to twitch violently. Yet the Dark Lord held on tightly to her wrist as she was branded. Enjoyment was clearly written on his face.

When the spell had finished, the Dark Lord released the girl's arm and watched as she examined the black mark that marred the now red skin.

"My Lord," whispered the girl, excitement filling her voice, "Thank you, my Lord, thank you."

The girl crawled forward and kissed his offered hand and then the hem of his robes before she backed up, still kneeling.

"Now, Miss Malfoy, whenever you feel it burn, you are to come straight to me and, with time, I will grant you the privilege of a Death Eater's mask and robes. Until that time, you will be my eyes and ears and relay any important information to me about Potter."

"Yes, my Lord," whispered the girl.

"Now, what to do with you until you go back to Hogwarts... normally, I would have had you go back with Lucius, but I can clearly see that your health would be in question. But where should you go until then?"

Severus took his chance and decided that now was the time to speak up.

"My Lord, I have a suggestion," whispered Snape.

"Yes, Severus, what is it?"

"With your permission, my Lord, I could take her back to Hogwarts with me. I'll tell that old fool some lie or another and then give Miss Malfoy some proper training in the Dark Arts."

The Dark Lord considered him for a moment, looking him straight in the eyes. Snape felt him enter his mind, pushing in forcefully, looking at different pictures that Snape called forward. The Dark Lord looked around for a while longer, then pushed his conscience from him.

Snape waited for an answer. He had no idea why it was taking the Dark Lord so long to decide, but he waited as patiently as he could. The breeze had now turned into a wind that played with the hems of their robes, which flapped and swirled around their owners.

Finally the Dark Lord answered, "Fine. Severus, take her back to Hogwarts with you. Tell the Mudblood-loving fool what you want. I expect you to have her up-to-date with all of the Unforgivable Curses in four months. Of course, I will expect you to keep Miss Malfoy's true patronage a secret. There is no need to cast extra suspicion on her."

The Dark Lord turned his attention back down to the girl still kneeling near his feet.

"Miss Malfoy, you are to listen and do what ever Severus tells you. I want you fully armed and prepared in four months, which should be more then plenty of time for you to learn those spells."

"Yes, my Lord," whispered the girl.

"Good. Now, Severus, take her and go now. I will arrange for you to hear of what happens at the rest of our little meeting."

Snape nodded and turned to the girl, "Come, Miss Malfoy," Snape sneered.

Snape turned, robes billowing, and walked down to the base of the hill. The chit of a girl scrabbled behind him. He would have to knock some sense into the girl. What the hell was she doing in front of the Dark Lord? And since when did Lucius keep anyone alive that wasn't his wife after having his way with them? There were too many questions with too few answers.

When they had reached the bottom of the hill, Snape turned sharply and grabbed the girl by the upper arm. She gave a squeak of surprise that was cut off when he disapparated with a "crack."

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**Again Please REVIEW, I would love to know what you think. **


	2. Ch 2 Double Trouble

Chapter 2

Double Trouble

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**Disclaimer:** Ok, nothing has changed… I still don't own Harry Potter, I still don't own Snape (as much as I wish I did), and I don't own Hermione. 

**Author's Note: **I would like to thank everyone who reviewed, I hope you enjoy this chapter as much as chapter one if not more so. I'm changed the title because Light in the Dark sounded to cliché and I don't think it really is that great of a name for my story. I would like to thank pointblank1 for staying up so late editing so that I could update today. Please Review and I hope that you enjoy this chapter.

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_When they had reached the bottom of the hill, Snape turned sharply and grabbed the girl by the upper arm. She gave a squeak of surprise that was cut off when he disapparated away with a "crack."_

They reappeared just outside of the Hogwarts wards. Snape strolled in the direction of the gates, one hand still grasping the girl's arm firmly. The girl struggled and let out a soft "ow." Snape didn't look back as he continued to half-drag the girl towards the gates.

"Ow, Professor, let go! You're hurting my arm!"

Snape turned, pulling the girl closer. "I'm hurting your arm, Miss Granger. This should be nothing compared to the pain _that_," Snape glared at the black mark on her arm, "caused."

The girl yanked her arm out of Snape's grasp and glared at him, rubbing her arm with her free hand.

Snape sneered but turned away from her and walked toward the gates. Pulling out his wand, he flung the gates open with a flick and cleared the wards as they entered.

The grounds of Hogwarts were exactly how he had left them; nothing had changed except for the moon in the sky. They were halfway across the grounds before Snape remembered to close the gates and reapply the wards.

Snape didn't pay any attention to the girl that was practically running behind him. The girl had acted very stupidly and would pay dearly if Snape had anything to do with it.

They had almost reached the gargoyle when he heard, or rather, didn't hear, the sound of an extra set of feet. He turned around and saw that, to his dismay, the brat wasn't behind him anymore. Cursing under his breath, Snape turned and headed back the way he came.

He had gone up two floors when he saw the hem of a cloak turn a corner. Pulling out his wand, he aimed at the fabric and snapped, "Petrificus Totalus."

The spell shot from his wand and, before the black cloak had completely vanished from sight, the spell found its target. And, to Snape's delight, he heard a soft, "thud."

Snape turned the corner and found the girl lying face down on the stone floor.

Pushing her over with his foot, Snape stared down at the girl, who looked angrier than a disrespected hippogriff.

Leaning against the wall, Snape watched as the girl attempted to struggle even though it was impossible to move even a millimeter under the spell.

"What do you think you're doing, Miss _Malfoy_?" sneered Snape. "Where do you think you were headed? The password to the Gryffindor common room has been changed since you were last here and I don't think you are stupid enough to go there. After tonight, though, I really don't know what to think of your intelligence. So, where were you headed? You didn't seem in a too big of hurry to get there… though you must have realized that no matter where in this school you could have gone, you would have been found, sooner or later."

Snape stared down at the girl, thinking over the questions in his head. Surely the girl realized that she wouldn't be able to escape him for long, and the wards would have been intensified to keep the girl in, but did the girl know another way out of the castle that they didn't? It was possible, but probable? He didn't think so.

Snape ripped off a piece of his robe and transformed it into rope, keeping his eyes on the evermore puzzling girl at his feet. Kneeling down, he pulled out her wand and slid it into his own pocket with a smirk; the girl's face was becoming redder by the second.

"Now, Miss _Malfoy,_" said Snape coolly. "I think I'm going to bind you by your hands and possibly by your feet, too, because I don't think I can trust you after that stunt you just pulled."

Grasping her wrists, Snape bound them together as tightly as he could without cutting off her circulation completely. In order to avoid ripping more of his own robes, Snape turned and ripped a piece of the girl's robe and transformed it into another piece of robe. He then tied her feet, leaving some slack in between so that she could actually walk.

Standing back up, Snape looked down at the girl, "I am going to take the jinx off, and you're going to cooperate and come to the Headmaster's office."

The girl just glared at him, and Snape had to keep himself from rolling his eyes. But all the same, Snape gave his wand a flick and the girl was freed from the jinx.

The girl continued to glare at him, but Snape just raised an eyebrow in reply and said in a cold sneer, "You will lead the way, Miss _Malfoy_. Don't test my patience again tonight."

When they had reached the gargoyle, Snape was surprised to notice that the rest of their trip back to the Headmaster's office had been silent and uneventful. Snape still kept his wand at the ready up his sleeve just to be safe.

"Blood Pops," sneered Snape. The gargoyle leapt to life and sprang aside.

Snape waited as the girl hesitated but took a step forward onto the moving stairs. Snape got on right behind her, and when they had reached the door he barged in without knocking.

Dumbledore sighed but looked up as Severus came into the office, dragging a bushy haired girl along with him. Her face was hidden by her hair for a moment, but was thrown into the light as she was forced into a seat. Dumbledore gasped as he recognized her as Miss Hermione Granger.

"Severus," said Dumbledore sharply, "What is the meaning of this?"

Snape sneered, "The rope was necessary, Headmaster. She tried to flee as we approached your office. Miss Granger, or Miss _Malfoy, _as she is now, thought she could escape Hogwarts without anyone knowing."

"Miss Malfoy," said Dumbledore blankly.

"Yes," Snape said, lip curling. "It seems that Lucius didn't manage the simple task of ending the lives of all the women he assaulted, including the mother of Miss Malfoy here."

"Severus, I remain confused. Why did you bring Miss Granger here? I thought you were going to a Death Eater meeting."

"I did go to a Death Eater meeting. To my surprise, Miss _Malfoy_ did, too."

"Severus, please explain." Dumbledore looked as if he was beginning to guess the truth, but wanted to hear it from Snape's own lips.

"No sooner had I gotten there than Lucius pushed a girl forward and, to my surprise, it was one Miss Granger. Now, I asked myself, what was Miss Granger doing here? The only logical thought was that she had been captured, but it seems that it was the other way around. It seems Miss Granger wanted to be caught," said Snape coolly. "After Miss Granger told everyone of how she found out she was a Malfoy, she asked to be branded."

Snape grabbed the rope that held the girl's hands and ripped down the girl's left sleeve.

"Professor, these are my best robes!" exclaimed Hermione.

Snape sneered at the girl but turned to see the surprised look on the Headmaster's face.

"I don't believe it."

"Neither did I," replied Snape.

There was silence as the Headmaster seemed to collect his thoughts. Snape glared down at the girl who was ignoring everyone completely and staring out the window, without an apparent care in the world.

Snape decided to speak up. "I think Miss _Malfoy_ has a bit of explaining to do. I think that this interrogation might reach its conclusion faster under the influence of Veritaserum. Headmaster, with your permission, I would like to fetch some from my stores."

Dumbledore looked up and met Severus's eyes, "Do you think that will really be necessary, Severus? Surely using Legimency would be just as effective and not to mention less traumatic than using Veritaserum?"

"I have no doubt that under normal circumstances Legimency would be more than effective. In Miss Granger's case, however, I have no doubt that she has acquired some level of Occlumency over her years here at Hogwarts."

The girl's head turned to look at Snape. He saw with slight satisfaction that there was a bit of uncertainty in her eyes.

Snape turned back to Dumbledore, "If I may call a house elf to get the bottle for me?"

Without waiting for an answer, Snape called, "Winky!"

There was a pause and then a loud "_Crack_!"

"Yes, Professor Snape, sir? Does sir want anything- tea, coffee?"

"No, Winky, not now," snapped Snape. "I want you to bring me a bottle of Veritaserum. All of my bottles are in alphabetical order, now go."

The house elf gave a bow and then with another "_Crack_" she was gone.

They didn't have to wait long for the elf. No sooner had Snape seated himself than he heard a third "_Crack_" and the house elf reappeared with a crystal bottle in her grimy little hands.

"Here it is, sir," squeaked the elf.

Snape took the bottle and gave the elf a stiff nod before turning to the Headmaster. Behind him, he heard the elf leave and knew that they were alone.

"Right, now let's get this over with, Headmaster. I have better things to do tonight than interrogate hormonal teenagers."

"Wait," said a slightly shrill voice. "Don't I have a say in this? I mean, you could just ask me! I promise I'll answer truthfully."

"I don't think you have a say in the manner, Miss _Malfoy_," sneered Snape. "You gave up that decision when you received that 'blemish' on your arm."

The girl blushed. Snape didn't really notice, as he extracted the stopper of the bottle with his wand, conjured up a shot glass, and poured out three drops of the clear, water-like liquid.

Snape was just about ready to force the potion down the ungrateful girl's throat when he was stopped by the Headmaster.

"What?" snapped Snape.

"Let's give her the choice, Severus," said Dumbledore in a calm voice, eyes cold as ice. "She either takes it willingly and reaps the benefits, or she is forced to take it and suffers the consequences."

Snape smirked. The Headmaster did have a bit of a cold mind when it was necessary. Turning back to the girl, he saw that she was carefully thinking over everything that Dumbledore had just said and was analyzing it, looking for deeper meanings.

The girl's arms were still crossed in defiance. Snape suspected that force would be necessary in the form of either the Imperius curse or a Stunning Spell (after which they would pour the liquid down her throat). Snape was fine with both; neither would cause him to lose sleep.

All the same, Snape offered the glass to the girl and quirked his eyebrow, daring her to knock it out of his hand.

The girl looked at the glass and then into his eyes. What he saw was anger, pure hateful anger, the wish that the man standing in front of him would feel nothing but pain. It surprised him, then, when she shot out her right hand, grabbed the shot glass, and downed it.

They waited in silence for the potion to take effect. Snape looked out the window to see that dawn was finally approaching. The sun hadn't yet risen above the Forbidden Forest, but there was a pink hue illuminating the trees. It seemed to promise a beautiful day.

Turning back to the girl, Snape noticed that she had relaxed somewhat in her seat, a sure sign that the potion had taken effect. He decided to start with a test question.

"Miss Granger, please state your full name," whispered Snape.

In a monotone voice, the girl replied, "Hermione Jane Granger, soon to be Hermione Jane Malfoy, once the ministry receives word of the fact that Lucius Malfoy is my father."

Snape nodded his approval and turned to Dumbledore , whispering, "If you don't mind, Headmaster, I would like to head this interrogation."

Dumbledore nodded, and Snape turned back to the girl sitting in a daze in front of him.

Right, he thought, let's see what you have to say for yourself.

"Miss Granger, you told the Dark Lord that you searched for two nights and finally found your Muggle birth certificate on the third night at the local bank, is that true?"

The girl gave an emotionless, "Yes. Lucius Malfoy was listed as my father. My mother's name was one I didn't recognize."

"After you found your birth certificate, what did you do?"

Looking straight ahead, the girl replied, "I left town that night because I couldn't stand staying with those liars. I collected the few items that I desperately needed; money and a few books. Then, I held out my wand hand and got on the Knight Bus. I went to Diagon Alley. Once I got to the Leakey Caldron, I bought a room and spent the night there. The next day, I went to the Ministry because I knew that they keep records of the births of all the witches and wizards born in Great Britain. The people there couldn't find any record of me. I wasn't surprised, I didn't really expect there to be one, even if I was a Malfoy."

The girl paused. Snape could tell that she was trying to fight the potion. Her shoulders tensed and she squeezed her eyes shut. Snape decided to give the girl another drop of the potion. It wouldn't do for her to fight the potion. Veritaserum could cause brain damage if used improperly.

It wasn't hard to get the girl to take the extra drop. Once she had relaxed her shoulders, Snape asked her to continue.

"I went back to the Leaky Caldron. I wasn't sure what to do next, but I decided to go to the bookstore. Not only did I want to see if there was a new issue of Hogwarts, a History, but I wanted to check if there were any books that offered a way to verify that Lucius Malfoy was indeed my real father. I was happy to see that there was. I bought two books on the subject: Blood Testing for the Curious and So You Think that You Were Adopted. Both books offered me solutions to my problems, but I needed one that didn't require use of my wand, for I'm still underage.

"I found the perfect solution in Blood Testing for the Curious. It gave the directions for a simple potion that could be used to check parentage. The only ingredient that I couldn't buy was a drop of Lucius Malfoy's blood. I got the other ingredients and borrowed a cauldron from Tom the barkeeper.

"I still had to think of a way to get a drop of Lucius's blood without him noticing. It took me another day to get my answer, which came when I was looking through my window into Muggle London. I noticed that the TV store across the street was showing the news. There was a report of kidnappings involving kids being knocked out by a sedative that was kept in a ring with a needle. That fit perfectly, except for the fact that all I wanted was a drop of blood and I didn't want to knock him out.

"I made one myself. I had taken art when I was in Muggle school and they taught us how to make jewelry. I attached a short needle to the ring. I used a syringe needle, so that I could use the microscopic pocket in it to my advantage. After staying at the Leakey Caldron for three nights I had everything I needed. Now, I just needed to wait for Lucius Malfoy."

She paused and took a small breath. Dumbledore transformed a scrap of paper on his desk into a glass, filled it with water, walked around his desk, and gave it to the girl.

She took the glass and drank from it gratefully. Snape waited for her to finish and set the glass down.

"Right, Miss Granger," drawled Snape, "I am guessing that you waited a few days, and you either learned or noticed that Lucius pops into Diagon Alley every few days to go to Knockturn Alley. You took advantage of this, you got yourself caught, and then what? What did Lucius do with you once he caught you?"

She opened her mouth to answer when Dumbledore held up a hand to interrupt. "If I may ask one question, Severus, before we continue."

Snape nodded.

Dumbledore turned his eyes back to the girl. "While you were staying at the Leakey Caldron, did you try and contact either Mr. Weasley or Mr. Potter? Did either contact you?

The girl turned her attention to Dumbledore, her eyes as expressionless as ever. "Yes, I contacted them both. I was desperate to confide in someone. I was scared and, now that I look back, foolish. I wrote and explained that I was, in fact, Lucius Malfoy's daughter, even though I didn't know for sure myself. Their replies were full of disgust. They accused me of deceiving, and even using, them. Harry was slightly less condemning then Ron, but not too much so. I didn't contact them again, and I never received another letter from either of them."

Snape stared, slightly dumbstruck at the both the Potter brat and the Weasley prat's behavior. They had been so cold towards their best friend. Granted, they had found out that she was daughter to the father of their worst enemy at school.

Snape shook his head. He would consider that information later and possibly punish them for being so stupid. It obviously affected her greatly, even though she didn't show it.

"Please return to my question, Miss Granger. What did Lucius do with you once he caught you?" continued Snape.

"Lucius quietly stunned me and took me back to his manor. I woke up later that night, chained to a cold stone wall in his cellar," continued Hermione in her monotone voice.

Snape looked over to where Dumbledore was sitting. The man's blue eyes were full of concern. Snape turned back to the girl.

"I was left alone in the cellar for what felt like days, but might have been only hours. After, however long it was, Lucius finally brought me something to eat- leftovers. He told me that I didn't deserve the leftovers, but he didn't want me to die before he brought me before the Dark Lord. When he had left the tray, he boasted about 'doing the lady' that he guessed must have been my mother. He said that I had her horrible hair and disgustingly brown eyes. And, later, he admitted that he had pulled some strings and had had the documentation on me destroyed.

"I never learned what became of my mother, but I can guess. The hours spent in his cellar were horribly lonely and cold. It was maddening. The pitch black cellar played with my imagination; sometimes I couldn't tell if I was awake or asleep. There were a few times I wished that I had just died."

She stopped there. Snape, without thinking, filled her glass with water. She stared down at the water. After she had drunk half of it, she seemed to be in deep thought as she swirled the water that was left.

Snape watched her for a while before he continued, "Did Draco every visit you while you were there? And when did you decide to ask for the Dark Mark? Lucius seemed surprised by your request."

She rolled her head over to look at Snape and smiled, "It's because of Draco that I took the Mark, though I had already considered it before I had gotten to the Malfoy manor. Draco snuck down one night to the cellar. He no doubt had seen his father drag me into the house, but he must have kept quiet about it. I'm sure that Lucius didn't know his son was coming down to see me. When Draco saw me, he, of course, made fun of me; mocked me for being such a stupid little _mudblood_. And he was just about to leave when we heard his father come downstairs. Draco put a Disillusionment charm on himself and waited in the corner. Lucius came in with the usual tray of leftovers. He told me that even though I was a Malfoy, he still considered me nothing more then a filthy mudblood and that I would soon learn my place if he had his way. After he had left, Draco took off the charm and stared at me, wide-eyed. He later apologized for how he treated me and told me that he would help me escape."

"Is that all, Miss Granger? I find it hard to believe you so willingly accepted Draco, after how horrible he has been to you, Mr. Potter, and Mr. Weasley." said Dumbledore.

"Draco told me that he hadn't had any choice but to treat them like that. Especially since it was Harry who had been first to insult Draco by declining his friendship. Draco said that since then, it's been hard for him to slip out of that attitude. Every time he visited me, he always apologized for when he used to call me mudblood, even though I had long since forgiven him."

"You haven't answered the other question that I asked you, Miss Granger," said Snape coolly, "Or, partly at least. Why did you decide to take the Dark Mark?"

"I considered taking the Dark Mark after the responses I got from my so-called friends," she spat. "Even then, it was just a thought; I was and am tired of their immaturity and their stupidity. I have dealt with that long enough, and this was the last straw.

"Draco reinforced the idea. He had come down one night to talk and to discuss a way to get myself freed. I decided to tell him that I was thinking of taking the Dark Mark. He sat in silence for a while before he looked back at me with wide eyes. He said that I could use that to ensure my safety and freedom when I was brought before the Dark Lord. Draco said that he could try to convince his father to tell the Dark Lord that I came willing. That was true enough, but would spark the Dark Lord's interest enough to let me speak. I could go from there. Lucius didn't know that I was planning to reveal the one secret he had planned to keep from the Dark Lord."

They sat in silence, the room becoming lighter as the sun rose above the trees, spilling golden beams across the Headmaster's wooden table. Snape stared at the girl in front of him. She had truly changed dramatically since the last time she had been inside this school.

Snape pulled out his wand and pointed it at the girl.

"What are you going to do, Severus?" asked Dumbledore in a slightly cautious voice.

Snape was too tired to think about rolling his eyes, but replied, "I intended to Stun her for a while so that we can discuss what to do with her without being interrupted."

Dumbledore sighed, resigned. "Alright, Severus, if you think it's really necessary."

"Stupefy," said Snape, and a beam of red light hit the girl in the chest. She slumped forward in her seat.

"What do we do with her, Severus? We cannot deny her entrance to school."

"I don't think that she's too much of a danger to the other students. She's more of a danger to Potter than anyone else, and the Dark Lord just wants_information_ on Potter from her, nothing else. I think the safest option is to let her come back to school and keep a watchful eye on her," said Snape in an emotionless voice.

"Yes, I suppose that is the only option we really have," sighed Dumbledore as he took off his half moon spectacles and rubbed them on his navy blue robes. "We will need to erase this conversation from her mind, of course. If she has truly changed sides, even for the time being, it would not be safe for her to remember you bringing her up to my office."

"I could modify her memory now and reawaken her outside the gates of Hogwarts," suggested Snape. "I could tell her that she passed out because of the combined traumas caused by the disapparation and receiving the Dark Mark. I have read in a book that it is possible, so even if she does check, she'll find that it could have happened."

"I believe that will be appropriate. What, however, will we do with her during these upcoming weeks?" questioned Dumbledore. "You could have her help out in your laboratory. She is smart enough that she could handle even some of the more difficult potions that the hospital wing needs."

"She can help with that, and that will leave me time to work on some research that I have been meaning to do," said Snape thoughtfully. "I will also have to schedule time to teach her the Dark Arts. That was my excuse to the Dark Lord so that I could bring her to the castle. She'll have to learn the Curses sooner or later."

More silence greeted this statement. Snape realized how truly tired he was. When he looked out the window, he noticed the one problem with their plan.

"Headmaster," Snape said tiredly. "If I'm to tell her that she passed out when we disapparated, how will I explain the fact that it's light out?"

"Ah," said Dumbledore, "That is quite the inconsistency… Take her to the hospital wing. Tell her whatever you like. It will be better this way, because then you can tell her that I have already been informed of her presence here. This saves you from lying again."

Snape looked over to the girl, and then back up to Dumbledore, "If we're going to modify her memory, let's do it now. I can wait to reawaken her until after I have gotten some rest, but let's get rid of these memories while they are easy to find and still fresh in her head."

"Obliviate!"

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Stayed up till 3:03 writing this (and 1:16 editing it!!!—Pointblank1) Hope you enjoy this chapter. Please have a safe and happy New Year. And as always please REVIEW. 


	3. Ch 3 Woes of a Death Eater

Chapter 3

Woes of a Death Eater

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**Disclaimer:** The only thing I own is the laptop that I'm using to type this story. I don't own Snape nor do I own Hermione.

**Author's Note:** I would like to thank everyone who reviewed again. Your reviews make typing each chapter easier. I would like to thank pointblank1 for editing this chapter and my dog for sitting on my lap while I type this. I'm sorry for the confusion, this story will continue to be called Light in the Dark. I know that I changed the title for chapter 2, but I decided that I didn't like it so it's back to the original name. I hope that you enjoy this chapter, please REVIEW.

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_Snape looked over to the girl, and then back up to Dumbledore, "If we're going to modify her memory, let's do it now. I can wait to reawaken her until after I have gotten some rest, but let's get rid of these memories while they are easy to find and still fresh in her head."_

"_Obliviate!"_

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Snape watched as the teenager sleeping in front of him started to wake. He had no idea why he felt the need to wait for her to wake up, but he couldn't bring himself to just go back to his Pepper-Up potion. The girl was insane to have allowed herself to be branded by the Dark Lord. She'd probably do something stupid again if left to her own devices.

He felt that the Dark Lord would only use her for so long before disposing of her. It would surprise Snape if Voldemort kept her around long at all. Maybe if she did manage to prove herself useful she could rise high in the ranks. After all, she was part Malfoy. But in all likelihood, that still wouldn't happen, in Snape's opinion.

The girl stirred, and Snape felt that it was about time he woke her and brought her up to date.

"Miss_Malfoy_, wake up. If you waste another second sleeping, I will deem it necessary to make you wash cauldrons for a month," said Snape in a bored tone.

The girl opened her eyes, which looked past him in a tired, unfocused way. Using her right hand, she rubbed her eyes, which finally seemed to take in their surroundings. It seemed to take her a moment to remember who she was, but once she did, she sat up straight.

"Professor, what are you doing here?" She looked around a bit and added, "Um, sir, why am I in the hospital wing?"

Snape responded, "I am here to tell you that you are to move to a spare room down in my quarters where you will remain for the rest of the summer. The Headmaster seemed to feel that if you truly wanted to begin an apprenticeship, the summer would be a good time to start. And you are in the hospital wing because the trauma from receiving the Dark Mark, plus the additional stress put on your body when you apparated, seems to have been too much for you. You collapsed immediately upon our arrival."

Hermione stared confusedly at Snape, "Wait, an apprenticeship? I don't remember saying that I wanted to start an apprenticeship."

Snape lowered his voice to a menacing whisper, "Miss _Malfoy_, or Miss Granger as I must now call you, I had to give the Headmaster a very good reason as to why a student such as yourself wanted to come back to school so early in the year. So, for the time being, the staff has been informed that you had a fight with your parents and left your house for Diagon Alley, where you stayed at the Leaky Caldron. After staying there for few days, you found yourself bored out of your mind and you foolishly started to wander around Knockturn Alley, where you ran into me while I was on my way to pick up some very potent potions ingredients. You decided to use this encounter to _beg_me to take you back to Hogwarts so that you could work on a project, or perhaps convince Professor McGonagall to let you be her apprentice. The Headmaster thought that you would be of the most use through being my apprentice. And that is the story that you will tell as if it were the truth, understood?"

"Right," said Hermione. "So why did Professor Dumbledore think that it would be better for me to be an apprentice to you instead of to Professor McGonagall?"

Snape sneered, "It seems that on your overall exams you have, unfortunately, done slightly better on your Potions exams than on your Transfiguration exams."

The girl looked like she was about to argue when Snape decided to interrupt.

"Miss Granger, I assure you that I take no pleasure out of the fact that I have to spend the summer with an insufferable know-it-all. Since I have no choice, however, I will have to make the best of the situation." Snape smirked at the look of horror on the girl's face. "You will help me with any potion that I ask you to help with and, if I find you capable of completing such tasks, I may allow you to help me with some research I will be working on throughout the summer."

The girl crossed her arms and looked away. Thankfully, at that moment the matron, Madam Pomfrey, came over.

"Are you feeling any better, dear? You had quite a headache there," said Madam Pomfrey.

Jumping at the change of subject, Hermione replied, "I'm feeling a lot better, thanks."

"Well, if you feel strong enough you may go," said Madam Pomfrey. "If the headache returns, I want you to come straight here."

Hermione nodded and turned to get out of bed.

Snape backed up, giving the girl room, and handed her her wand before leading her out of the infirmary and into the hall.

Snape walked briskly to the dungeons, not really caring whether the chit behind him kept up or not. Now that he was put in charge of the girl, there would be no stopping him if he decided to make her clean the dungeons for a week.

They had almost reached the stairs which led to the dungeons when a large, black eagle owl came flying up in front of them, perching on a nearby statue of armor. The owl cocked its head as they approached and, when they had come level to it, held out its leg.

Snape approached the bird curiously. He had seen the bird before, but he didn't have a clue as to why the Malfoys would want to contact him. He had reached out to grab the scroll when the bird started to flap its wings and snap its beak furiously. Withdrawing his hand quickly, he watched as the bird hopped in front of Miss Granger, stopping to hold out its leg for her.

Hermione looked nervously at the bird, having never been too fond of birds in general. Their beaks and talons were incredibly sharp and seemed really dangerous to her. Hermione slowly reached out her hand to take the scroll and was relieved when the bird didn't snap at her.

Once the scroll had been untied, the bird hooted and took off, flying out a nearby window.

Hermione glanced down at the scroll and smiled as she recognized the neat, flowing handwriting on it. She was curious to know what Draco wanted but didn't want to open the scroll in front of Snape.

Snape watched as the girl examined the handwriting on the scroll. He noticed that she didn't seem willing to open it while he was there. Having realized already whom the owl belonged to, he wasn't too sure that he really wanted to see what Malfoy had to say. Whether it was Lucius or Draco, he didn't really care.

"If you are not going to read that here, I suggest that we move on. I will show you where you will be staying for the remainder of the summer," sneered Snape.

"Right, Professor."

Snape turned on his heels and, with robes billowing behind him, headed back down towards the dungeons.

Hermione was just starting to think that she might be sleeping in the deepest part of the school, possibly in some abandoned cellar, when Professor Snape came to an abrupt stop in front of her. She would have run into him had he not sidestepped her.

"Sorry, Professor. I didn't see you stop," said Hermione apologetically.

Snape scowled, "If you are going to be working with potions this summer, I suggest that you get your head out of the clouds."

"My rooms are located behind this tapestry of Sir Camelot's attempt to kill a basilisk. My rooms are heavily warded to keep out everyone from nosy students to bothersome staff members," Snape smirked. "The door will only open if it recognizes a magical signature; the password. Also, it will only accept the password if it recognizes the voice saying it."

Hermione nodded, slightly amazed at all the precautions that Professor Snape had taken to ensure that he had privacy.

"If you can manage to hand me your wand, I will program the wards to recognize your magical signature and a password of your choice."

Hermione fumbled slightly as she reached into her robes and pulled out her beautifully engraved cherry wand. Handing it over, she watched as Snape took her wand lightly in his hand and, taking out his own wand also, touched the tips of both wands to the snake's red glittering eye while muttering some strange incantation under his breath. The snake's eye seemed to shine brighter as the tips of the wands turned a bright gold. The snake blinked, and Snape handed Hermione's wand back to her.

"Now, to activate the wards to your password and voice, you need to place the tip of your wand on the snake's eye. I will place the tip of my wand on your wand and, when the tips glow gold, you will say a word that you want to use as your password and you will say it until the tips of the wands turn red."

Hermione nodded and stood in front of the tapestry, placing the tip of her wand on the snake's eye. Snape stood off to the side and placed the tip of his wand on top of hers. Hermione listened as Snape murmured under his breath like he had done before. A golden light started to appear at the tips, and Snape nodded in her direction. Hermione froze, not sure what she should use for a password.

After a second of thinking over different words in her head, Hermione decided to go with something that no one else knew about her. Thinking of her favorite flower, Hermione looked at the snake and said, "Mon enfer, mon enfer, mon enfer, mon enfer…"

The tips of the wands started to change into a mix of gold and red. Hermione didn't stop until the tips turned a bright blood red. Almost as soon as light had turned a pure red, there was a spark of green, and the light produced by the wands went out.

Hermione lowered her wand and looked over to her professor, who had an unreadable expression on his face. She blinked and felt that she must have imagined it. Snape's face had resumed its normal sneer.

Snape looked back at the girl standing in front of the tapestry. "Let's see if the wards have accepted you, as I have no doubt they have."

The girl raised her wand and touched the tip of it to the snake's eye and said, "Mon enfer."

Where the snake's tongue had been, a red handle appeared and, without a second glance, Snape reached forward and grabbed the handle, opening the door.

The chamber in which they entered wasn't any larger than the Potions classroom, but while the Potions classroom was dark, cold and uninviting, this room was warmly furnished, with plush carpet and rows of books that covered every wall.

"This is my private library. If you wish to borrow something, I suggest that you ask before you remove it from the shelf, unless you wish to find yourself cursed for a hundred years. Some of the books will only open if their owners remove them, anyway. The door to your right will take you to the kitchen and dining area, and unless you wish to spend your evenings talking to Professor Dumbledore, I suggest that you eat here or in the kitchens. The door straight ahead will take you up to the second floor, where you will find the guest bedroom. You are not to go up to the third floor. This is where my study is located. Finally, the door in the left corner leads to my private laboratory. You are not to go in there unless I have given you permission to do so. Do I make myself clear, Miss Granger?" said Snape in a soft, dangerous voice.

"Yes, sir."

"Good. Now, I will be in my Laboratory. Unless Hogwarts catches fire or you are an inch from death, do not bother me. If a potion gets ruined because of you, you will wish that you have never been born."

"Right, sir," whispered Hermione. "Can I go to the library? I would like to work on my Charms essay."

"Fine. I want you back here before nine. I don't want you wandering these halls at night. I am not against giving you detentions or docking house points before term starts."

Hermione stared openmouthed at Snape, who raised his usual eyebrow, daring her to object. Since there really wasn't much one could say to a statement like that, Hermione just nodded and headed back out of the room.

She met no one on her way to the library, but she didn't really want to go there at all. It was just an excuse to escape Snape and go to the Room of Requirement.

She needed to be alone. Nothing was going exactly how she wanted it. Hermione had hoped that she would have been allowed to return to the Malfoy manor. At least there she could talk to Draco, even if she did have to put up with abuse from Narcissa and Lucius.

Hermione looked down at the letter that was still in her hand. She hoped that Draco had a plan to get her out of this. Working with Snape all summer was going to be a nightmare.

She supposed that she did respect him, to some extent, but there was such a thing as too much of one person. Hermione could think of at least ten people she would rather spend the summer with.

On second thought, maybe Snape wouldn't be that horrible after all, as long as she was allowed to go to the library whenever she wanted. She could avoid him all summer.

Hermione sighed. It didn't matter, she'd already got what she really wanted. Smirking, she rolled up her left sleeve and looked at the black burn on her arm. It was beautiful. The contrast between her pale skin and the mark just made it stand out even more, like a star in the night sky.

She would, of course, have to hide it when school started. Her arms were covered most of the time, but there were times when she'd had to roll up her sleeves in the past...

Maybe a glamour charm or a potion could cover the mark. She only needed something to make it disappear for a few hours at a time. She decided to look into that later. For now, she decided to work on more pressing matters, like how to survive without Draco for the summer.

She soon found herself outside of the Room of Requirement across from the tapestry of the dancing trolls. Closing her eyes, Hermione walked past the area three times, thinking of a place where she could spend her summer in peace.

Opening her eyes, she sighed at the sight of the door. In a way, it was a gift she needed right now. The door opened at her touch and revealed the room of her dreams. The room had definitely outdone itself.

The room somewhat resembled the Gryffindor Common room, except instead of horrid maroon and gold the room was done in shades of blue and green, like a Hawaiian paradise. Two of the four walls were covered in rows and rows of books. In the corner of books sat two reclining chairs that looked comfortable enough to sleep in. In the opposite corner there was a mini kitchen which included a small icebox and stove. A door in the other corner revealed a small bathroom. She could literally spend the whole summer here comfortably if she wanted.

Sighing, Hermione relaxed for the first time in what felt like ages.

After selecting a book off of one of the many shelves, she chose a seat in one of the recliners. Before she opened the book, however, she first wanted to read the letter that Draco had sent her.

She broke the green seal, unraveled the letter, and read:

_Dear Hermione,_

_I hope you are well. Father was most displeased when he returned home after the meeting. He "told" me about how you are a Malfoy and such. Mother was very unhappy with the information. She never likes to hear what goes on when one is in the service of the Dark Lord. _

_It's good that you are at Hogwarts because Mother told Aunt Bellatrix and well, you know what Aunt Bellatrix is like, or at least I'm sure you can imagine how she reacted. I don't think you will ever be able to be around her without being cursed. She may eventually get used to the idea, though. It's hard to tell with her. _

_I'm glad that everything (or, almost everything) went as planned. I am sorry that you are now stuck spending the rest of the summer with Professor Snape. I know you and he never really got along. I hope that Father will allow me to visit soon. He's been talking about having me come over to teach you the "Malfoy Manners," as he likes to call them. _

_Father has finally admitted that you are indeed a Malfoy. I suppose he thinks that taking the Mark means you're at least somewhat respectable. Even Aunt Bellatrix seemed impressed when she heard that you received it. Of course, now I am teased about not having received mine yet, but all in good time._

_I hope to see you soon. Hang in there- Professor Snape will warm up to the idea of you being a Death Eater soon enough._

_Sincerely Yours,_

_Draco Malfoy_

Hermione smiled down at the letter, thinking about how "Aunt Bellatrix" reacted to the news of Hermione becoming a Death Eater.

She wasn't too excited about having to learn "Malfoy Manners," but it would give her a chance to see Draco, and that would be a nice change from the brooding professor.

Getting up, Hermione walked over to the icebox in the kitchen. She was happy to see that it was full of butter beers and sparkling water, along with fruit and assorted vegetables. Grabbing a sparkling water, Hermione went over to the counter which separated the kitchen from the library. She sat down and enjoyed the cool refreshing drink.

Time traveled quickly for Hermione while she sat and read some of the fascinating books that the room had created for her. Before she knew it, it was eight and she was now starting to feel slightly hungry. Not wanting to go to bed hungry, Hermione decided that she might be able to stop into the Great Hall and get something to eat there. Hermione wasn't in the mood to stop by the kitchens. Despite her empathy for house elves, their voices tended to give her a headache if she saw them too late in the evening.

Having had no trouble getting a late dinner, Hermione decided to return to her chambers before it got too late. Maybe she would be lucky and she wouldn't run into Professor Snape. It was possible that he could still be working in his laboratory.

The tapestry opened for her, and she found herself in the library slightly later than she expected, having gotten slightly lost on her way down.

She had reached the stairs, and her foot had just reached the first step, when she heard a soft velvety voice behind her.

"You are late, Miss Granger. I thought you were smart enough to keep track of time. This is apparently not the case."

"I'm sorry, Professor. I would have been in on time, but I got lost on my way down and I ran into Peeves on the way."

"A likely story. You should have left the library sooner, and you should have paid attention when I led you down here earlier. As for Peeves, that is no excuse. I wouldn't have expected it from a first year," said Snape icily.

Hermione gaped. What did he expect from her? It wasn't like she had been hours late, or even minutes late. She had only been a few seconds late, a minute at the most.

"Stop gaping, you look like a fish. Tomorrow you will scrub all of the cauldrons in the Potions classroom, without magic of course." Snape smirked as the girl's mouth dropped open even more.

"W-without magic, but sir! That will take hours."

"That's not my problem, Miss Granger. Maybe it will help remind you to be back before curfew tomorrow. Let this be a lesson to be on time the rest of the summer."

"Right, sir," replied Hermione in a cool voice. "May I go to bed now?"

"You may retire to your room after we discuss your training and your position here at this school. Sit down."

Hermione moved slowly to an armchair beside the fire, not taking her eyes off the man who seemed to want to ensure that her summer was as miserable as possible. She was actually surprised that this talk hadn't come sooner. It wasn't like she was looking forward to a talk between herself and Snape, however.

"First, as admirable as it was that you became a Death Eater, it was an extremely foolish move. Not only are you putting yourself in danger, but you have endangered my position in this school and in the Order. I will tell you now that if you get yourself in any trouble, any at all, and it is found out that you are a Death Eater, I will refuse pointblank to side with you," whispered Snape in a cool dangerous voice.

Hermione was frozen in her chair. She had expected this. She had realized early on that Snape wouldn't support her, but to state it that way he did was painful for her to hear.

Snape stared into the fire. The fury that he had felt earlier was resurfacing, and now he couldn't hold back. He had to make her realize how foolish she had been.

"Professor," Hermione found her voice and was pleased that she could keep it steady. "I didn't take this Mark because I wanted to make your job harder."

Snape sneered, "Then tell me- why did you take the Mark? Did you think it was a pretty little tattoo?"

Hermione thought about what she should tell the Professor. She didn't want to tell him the whole truth, not having much trust in the man. A slanted truth would have to work. She hoped that he wouldn't look too far into it.

"Professor, there were several reasons why I took the Dark Mark. One reason I took it was because I couldn't think of any other way to get out of Lucius's mansion alive. Second, since I am no longer a mudblood," Hermione spat the word out, "I have nothing against persecuting them. They truly are nothing but filth, and the world would do better without them. And, third, there is nothing standing in the Dark Lord's way. It won't be long before the world falls to its knees at his feet."

Hermione found that she was now on her feet. She couldn't remember getting there, but she squared her shoulders and stared coolly at her Professor as he turned to look at her.

Snape sneered, "The light will fall. And I have no doubt that the Dark Lord will be in control soon, but you are risking you position at Hogwarts. If someone…"

"No one will know that I have become Death Eater," cut in Hermione sharply. "Professor, to you I may have acted foolishly. I may seem like a silly little girl, but I am more intelligent than all of the students in this school, and I am more clever than most of the wizarding world. Do you think that I have not thought about all that you say? Hiding my Mark is the least of my concerns, and it should be none of yours."

Snape couldn't believe his ears. True, the girl was the probably the most intelligent student in the school, and he knew she was clever, but she was going to waste it if she stayed on the Dark side, and he would do everything in his power to turn her away from it. For now, though, it seemed that he had no choice but to play Death Eater and get her to trust him.

"Fine," said Snape coolly. "You can cover your Mark. Have you have thought about how you will get out of the school if you are called, or how you will explain you absence to those dunder heads you call friends?"

"They are not my friends anymore, though I will have to try to get back on their side before school starts. And, if you must know, I can create a pretty powerful Disillusionment charm. I haven't been caught once using it."

Snape glared at the girl. He didn't know what else to say. She seemed to have every aspect of her new life figured out. He couldn't plead with her to switch sides. She would have to realize it herself. He only hoped she would realize it soon.

Deciding to change the subject, Snape said, "When you have finished cleaning the cauldrons in the Potions classroom, you will assist me in my Laboratory. Also, tomorrow we will start your training."

"What training, sir?" asked Hermione curiously.

"Miss Granger, I thought you said that you were intelligent! You will begin learning the Unforgivable Curses, and I will start teaching you how to duel properly," Snape smirked. If she ever, and Snape had no doubt that she would, came back to the good side, she would make a perfect spy.

"Yes, sir," replied Hermione in a mild voice. "Now, may I go to bed? It's been a long day."

Snape nodded and waited until she was halfway up the stairs before adding, "Oh, and Miss Granger, if you ever lie to me again about where you are going or where you have been, I will make you clean the dungeons for a year. Do I make myself clear?"

"How did you know?"

"A true master of Occlumency never drops their guard. Never drop your guard in the Dark Lord's presence. It may be the last thing you ever do."

"Right, sir. Good night."

"Good night, Miss Granger."

* * *

Well I hope you liked chapter 3. I'm laving for a trip here soon, so I don't know if I will be able to write a chapter while I'm gone. I will, of course, try really hard. Please REVIEW! The blue button is there for a reason.

Note: Mon enfer is French and means "my hell". The password was something else, but i changed it to this cause the original password was just stupid. So yeah.

* * *


	4. Ch 4 Not So Sweet

Chapter 4

Not So Sweet

* * *

Disclaimer: I don't own Harry, Snape, or Hermione. If I end up naming my dog Draco, then I own my dog, but not his name.

Author's Note: Well, I know it's been a long while since I last updated and I can only say I'm sorry. I had this finished by the second week in February, but my beta has been extremely busy and I was nervous about asking another person to beta. When Pointblank1 left for Greece I decided that I couldn't wait and asked another friend, target1. So I would like to thank her for her help and being so patient. I've been busy as well, let's just say that it's been a really stressful year, but now most of that has come to an end and I'm now free to write more. Thanks for all those reviews. And Please review this chapter, it's my favorite.

* * *

"_A true master of Occlumency never drops their guard. Never drop your guard in the Dark Lord's presence because it may be the last thing you ever do."_

"_Right, sir. Good Night."_

"_Good Night, Miss Granger."

* * *

_

Dear Draco,

_I've barely been here a day and I have already gotten on Professor Snape's bad side. I came to my room barely a second past curfew and he went berserk; he's making me scrub cauldrons today as punishment! (no magic, of course) It's going to take ages! _

_He's going to start training me today. I'm kind of nervous, but very excited all the same. I'm finally on my way to proving myself. No longer will Hermione Granger be associated with the word mudblood. _

_I hope that your father will let you come to visit soon, even if it is to teach me the "Malfoy Manners." Maybe Professor Snape will allow me to visit once during the summer; I'm already thinking about how great it will be to get out of the castle._

_Hope to see you soon!_

_Always yours,_

_Hermione Granger_

* * *

Dear Ron and Harry,

_I know that you are both at the Burrow and I don't think that I can write two letters. It's hard to write just one after the way that you two acted. _

_I'm not writing this to try and persuade you to talk to me again, but to tell you the whole truth and everything that I have found out so far. After the last letter I sent you, I went to the Ministry to see if they had any record of me being born; they didn't. _

_I then went to Borgin and Burkes to see if they had any books on blood testing or ways to figure out parentage. Thankfully, they did. I had everything ready for the potion I was going to use to test if I was Lucius Malfoy's daughter when I was kidnapped by the man himself, trying to obtain a sample of his blood._

_I can hardly believe that you think I would go over to that side when my so-called "father" nearly starved and tortured me to death. I'm safe now, though I can't say where I am for fear of this letter falling into the wrong hands. I have said too much as is._

_Please forgive me,_

_Hermione Granger_

* * *

Hermione woke early the next morning; unable to keep her eyes closed against the light that was pouring into her room from a sizable gap in the green velvet curtains.

She still felt tired, but now that she was awake she didn't think she could fall back asleep. Sighing, she rolled over and glared at the gap that let in the God forsaken light. If she had really wanted, Hermione could've grabbed her wand and shut the curtains, but that would still have meant getting up, and Hermione didn't really feel like doing that.

Getting out of bed, Hermione stretched and rubbed the sleep from her eyes. Glancing over at her clock, she saw that it was earlier then she had originally thought. Six o'clock was way too early a time to be awake for the weekend. With a groan, Hermione walked slowly into the bathroom to shower and start her day.

After a hot, long shower and getting dressed in muggle clothes (for comfort), Hermione made her way downstairs to the kitchen to see if there was anything she could grab for breakfast.

Hermione was surprised to see that there were lights on in the kitchen and that she was not the only one up so early. Then it dawned on her who she had to spend the summer with and let out an exasperated sigh. She wasn't sure she could stand dealing with Snape this early in the morning.

Snape sat at a round wooden table near the back of the small kitchen. He looked up as she entered, dressed in jeans and a light purple top.

"You're up, it's about time. I have something you need to see," said Snape icily.

Hermione sat down opposite him at the table and looked coolly at her professor.

Snape sneered and tossed over a copy of the Daily Prophet. The paper slid to a halt in front of Hermione and she looked down questioningly as the title of the paper blazed up at her.

Harry Potter's Muggle Born Friend, No Longer:

_Hermione Jane Granger is Half-Blood_

_Harry Potter's best friend, Hermione Granger, who, until recently, was thought to be muggle born, has now been thrown into a new light. A recent development, brought to light through an anonymous tip-off, proves that Hermione Granger is not only a half blood, but the daughter of Lucius Malfoy… _

Hermione dropped the paper. "How did they find out?" she stammered.

"Did you tell anyone besides the Dark Lord?" asked Snape coolly.

"Of course not…," started Hermione. She looked at Snape, her eyes suddenly wide and disbelieving. "In the letters that I wrote to Ron and Harry I said that there was a good chance that I was Lucius Malfoy's daughter." She dropped down into a chair, looking as if she had seen a ghost.

"I thought as much," replied Snape. "You foolish girl, did you not think? The Potter brat's mail is being searched. Anything and everything that you said has been read by the Ministry."

"Damn," said Hermione. "The Dark Lord isn't going to be pleased by this."

Snape snorted. "Is that all you are worried about? This is huge news and more focus on yourself is the last thing you need."

"What do you mean?"

"Use your head!" spat Snape. "Now that the press and the Ministry have gotten a hold of this, not only are you in danger from Lucius, but from those fools you call friends. And not just Potter and Weasley."

Hermione stared at the paper, thinking everything over. She couldn't believe this was happening. This was going to make her life a living hell, she just knew it.

"What should I do?" asked Hermione in an desperate voice.

"There is nothing to do but to wait. Acting on this would just make matters worse."

"Wait for what, for this to blow over? I'm sorry; I don't see that happening any time soon."

"You will wait in these rooms until you receive a letter from either Lucius or Draco. You need to act accordingly. You will need to be wary of Lucius, and if you act before he gives his say, you will only endanger yourself further. Do you understand?"

Hermione nodded and placed her head in her hands and murmured, "This isn't going to help my cause in trying to get Harry and Ron back on my side. They will, or at least Ron will, think that this will be further proof that I'm not to be trusted."

"Pine about your lost friends some other time, Miss. Granger, I have potions that need making and I will require your assistance making them."

Without another glance at the girl, Snape got up and crossed over to the door that led down to his private laboratory.

The black door creaked open and, pausing, Snape glanced over his shoulder to the girl still sitting at the table, "Miss. Granger, I don't have all day and these potions won't brew themselves."

He waited a second longer before he heard the scraping of wooden chair legs against stone and a second later a ruffled looking Miss Granger stood in front of him.

"Before you enter my private laboratory I will set down some ground rules, and if any of them are broken you will find yourself scrubbing the dungeon floors with out magic," sneered Snape. "First, you will only brew what I tell you to brew. You will not go off making your own concoctions or brew anything like polyjucie potion. Second, if I tell you to do something you will do it. If I tell you to get out of the dungeons you will do so immediately. And finally, if you are done with your set of tasks you will not pester me. You will clean up any mess that you have made and you will leave quietly and read, staying in these quarters. Do I make myself clear?"

"Yes, sir," sighed Hermione, "Crystal."

Snape gave a snort of acknowledgement and tuned, pushing the black door open.

Hermione couldn't believe that the door opened up onto more stairs; could they go any farther down? Grabbing the door as he passed, Hermione was relieved that there were only a few steps and the endless stairs had merely been an illusion.

Snape snapped his fingers and the dark potions laboratory sprang to life, as torches along the walls flickered into existence, throwing rows of caldrons, potions ingredients, books and desks into sharp relief. From what Hermione could see, all of them were stacked or pilled or sorted neatly in rows. Neither a book nor caldron was out of place.

Hermione's mood lightened considerably at the sight of the room; she loved organization. Even if she didn't want to admit it, she had always hated how cluttered and disorganized the Gryffindor common room was. She was glad to finally see that she wasn't the only crazily neat, organized person in the castle.

Snape motioned to a stack of caldrons, stacked neatly in a far corner. "Because of your tardiness, you will first scrub those cauldrons until they are clean. Remember Miss Granger," drawled Snape, "I do not tolerate lateness and as punishment you will clean them by hand, no magic. When you have finished, you will cut up a jar of flubber worms, I want them all cut to be one cm in length. And neatly. Once you have finished that, you will wait till I have finished here, then we will work on you training."

"Yes, Sir," replied Hermione. She did not know what else to say. As she couldn't get out of cleaning the caldrons, and it was clear that she couldn't get out of cutting the flubber worms, it was looking to be a long day.

After placing the top most caldron on the floor, Hermione set to work, using the wire brush that seemed to be the most sensible of brushes for this task, to clean the caldron in front of her. Without magic, Hermione set to work scrubbing cauldron after cauldron, till all nine cauldrons sat in a neat stack, clean as a whistle.

Wiping her forehead on the back of her sleeve, Hermione stood up, only to feel her back protesting, as her muscles screamed out in agony.

Glancing over, she saw Snape was busy at work, chopping ingredients and measuring them out, before gently dropping them in the cauldron. Hermione felt that, with him so focused on the potion, she could have dropped a bomb in that room and he still would have continued to work.

Turning from her professor, Hermione noticed a table with an awfully large jar sitting on it. Swearing under her breath, she made her way over to the table where the massive jar sat, containing hundreds of wriggling worms.

Taking the knife that had been laid, perpendicular to the table beside it, Hermione set to work, cutting the disgustingly slimy worms into one centimeter pieces.

Snape was doing everything that he could to keep himself from glancing over at the witch that stood at the table opposite, cutting up flubber worms. He couldn't help but notice the care in which she cut up the worms; how she measured twice before cutting, yet did it in a very efficient manner. She was smooth and graceful in her movements, and Snape was mesmerized by her, so much so that he almost, almost put too many hiccupping slugs into the potion.

Cursing under his breath Snape threw all his concentration back into his potion, trying unsuccessfully to get the witch out of his head.

Time seemed to pass rather quickly for Hermione as she cut the flubber worms. And she was somewhat surprised, and relieved when she reached into the jar to find that there were no more worms to cut.

Pleased to be finally done, Hermione cleaned up the table, content to use her wand and after bottling the pieces of worm, turned to look over to see if Snape was still working.

The room was empty, except for herself, and walking over to the caldron that he had been working on, she noticed that it thankfully had already been cleaned. With a small sigh of relief, Hermione made her way back into the living room.

Blinking as she stepped in to the slightly brighter room, Hermione was relieved to see that Snape was sitting in a lounge chair in front of the fire, reading. She didn't understand why she was relieved, except for that fact that she didn't really fancy sitting and reading at the moment.

Without looking at her Snape marked his place and, setting book aside before standing up, walked over to the door that led to the castle halls.

"The headmaster has requested that we dine in the great hall tonight, so I feel we have no choice but to oblige his request. If he asks anything to deal with your parents or how your summer was before you arrived here, I suggest you do a damn good job at lying to him, because he may try to use leginamency if he doesn't receive the answers he is looking for."

Hermione just nodded and made her way to the door her professor had just disappeared through. She had almost reached it when she felt a sharp, searing pain shoot through her left arm. Eyes watering, Hermione pulled back her sleeve to see the outline of her mark darken.

Snape turned sharply, when he heard a gasp of pain from behind him. Standing in the door way was Miss Granger, looking slightly pail, grasping at her arm. Her watering eyes met his and, with a sneer that he did not entirely feel, Snape said, "You've been summoned. And seeing as I have not, that must mean that He just wants you. Go, now, do not anger him further by delaying; I'll take care of the headmaster."

Hermione could only nod as the searing pain continued, each wave worse then the last, till finally the pain dulled into a mere throb.

When the pain eased, Hermione looked up and realized that without consciously knowing where she was going, she had walked just outside the Hogwarts gates. Thanks to _Hogwarts, a History_, Hermione knew that she would have to walk a little further before she would be allowed to apperate. Otherwise, she would set off the wards that kept the castle safe from other wizards and witches apperating in.

After walking for a few more minutes, Hermione, who had never apperated before, focused on the dull throb on her arm and, concentrating with all her might, she turned on the spot and was rewarded with the sensation of being sucked up a straw.

* * *

Snape stood rigidly where she had left him. He couldn't do anything to help her; even if he wanted to go after her he had no idea where the Dark Lord was calling her.

A part of Snape felt that she deserved what she was getting, stupid girl. What had she been thinking when she asked for the Mark?

She was sure to pay the price now, and even though Snape felt that she deserved it, he was slightly fearful of the state that she might be in when she arrived back. That was only if she was able to make it back.

Strolling up into the great hall, Snape was relieved to see that only the headmaster sat at the head table and that, at least for now, he could talk to the headmaster in private.

"Ah, Severus, so glad for you to finally make it. Though I had asked you to bring along Miss Granger as well. You don't have her still cleaning caldrons do you?"

"No, headmaster, she is unfortunately not still cleaning caldrons… She got called away," drawled Snape.

"And you are worried about her? Why Severus that's quite touching," hummed Dumbledore.

"Oh, of course I'm worried about her," Snape snapped. "She is a student of this school, and even though she has acted quite idiotically, she is still my student."

* * *

With a crack Hermione fell forward from the force of the landing. Having never apperated before, Hermione felt that she had at least managed to do a half way decent job. At least from what she could see and feel, she didn't think she splinched any part of herself.

"It's so nice for you to finally join us, Ms. Malfoy," said a cool, high voice from behind her.

Hermione spun around and there sitting in high backed chairs were the Dark Lord, Lucius and Narcissa Malfoy, and Belatrix Leastrange.

Hermione crept on her hands and knees to the Dark Lord's feet, "My Lord, please forgive me, I have never apperated before and was unsure how to accomplish it."

"She still looks like a mudblood to me," Belatrix chided. "Are you sure she yours Lucius?"

"Be quiet Bella," said the Dark Lord smoothly. "There is no need to insult Lucius any further then he has already been today."

Belatrix gave a bark of a laugh and smiled wickedly back down at Hermione, who blinked back a flinch.

The Dark Lord looked superiorly down at Hermione with those blood red eyes. "Miss Malfoy, did you see this morning's edition of the Daily Prophet?" asked the Dark Lord simply

Hermione glanced up, into the red gleaming eyes. "Yes, my lord."

Narcissa shifted slightly in her seat. Belatrix's smile grew wider and Lucius's grip on his serpent headed cane became tighter. The Dark Lord just continued to stare down at Hermione; having shown absolutely no sign that he had noticed anything.

"Did you see the headlines of the front page?"

Hermione's mouth went dry and her tongue stuck to the roof of her mouth as she nodded yes.

"How did the Ministry come to acquire that information? And after I told you not to tell anyone about you parentage, Miss Malfoy? Before you answer, think about this: Do you think I take being disobeyed lightly?"

Hermione swallowed in an attempt to get her tongue unstuck and opened her mouth to speak, but just then the Dark Lord flicked his wand and Hermione's mouth snapped shut.

Belatirx gave another bark-like laugh and said in a whiny voce, "Oh the itsy bitsy baby death eater is going to get a taste of her own medicine."

The Dark Lord held up a hand to quiet her, still staring into Hermione's chocolate eyes.

"Miss Malfoy, it seems that even though you come from decent stock, you haven't had the rules of this society bored into you, unlike most young witches and wizards. I will have to teach you lesson one the hard way, it seems. Never disobey me."

And with that he flicked his wand and shouted "Crucio!"

Pain as Hermione had never felt before shot though every cell in her body. Her veins felt like they were on fire and Hermione screamed in anguish.

Then just as fast as the pain had been given, it was taken away. Hermione lay panting on the floor, unable to rise to her hands and knees.

"Rule two," continued the Dark Lord, as though there had been no interruption. "You will not speak unless spoken to."

The pain was back, Hermione thrashed on the floor as her body convulsed against the second onslaught. Her muscles were inflamed and her eyes rolled wildly as the pain continued on for even longer than the previous time.

Just when Hermione thought she would surely die from the pain, lest it drive her mad, the curse was lifted and again Hermione lay panting on the floor, too weak to lift her head, too weak to look into her master's unforgiving eyes.

"Rule three, Miss Malfoy, never be late when I call you. You are to apperate as soon as you feel your arm burn."

Hermione tensed in anticipation and was thrown backwards, literarily, by the force the new assault of torture. She screamed in agony as blood started to stream from all the pours in her body. Her skin felt like it was on fire, it was unbearable. Just when she hoped for her mind to black out, the curse was removed.

Hermione could hardly open her eyes, as blood trickled from her body and started to pool on the floor.

She barely heard the click of neatly polished shoes as they came to a halt in front of her. She did recognize the end of the cane that had accompanied the feet though. And she was aware of being roughly pushed over onto her back by said cane.

Her eyes blinked out blood as they started up into the disgusted looking face of Lucius Malfoy. The man's grey eyes glared down at her as he stood like royalty above her.

"Never," said Lucius in his drawling voice as he slid out his wand from the cane, "Bring," eyes blazing as her pointed his wand down at her, "Dishonor to my name again." His last word was punctuated by a scream as Lucius silently aimed a curse at her.

Hermione heard and felt the bones in her fingers break, one by one; each bone in each finger, breaking one right after the other.

Her voice almost gone from screaming, Hermione didn't notice that, though her mouth was still open in a scream, no sound was coming out.

The curse ceased and she stared, though tear and blood stained eyes up at her father. Though the curse had been lifted her fingers still felt as though they had been run over by a car, throbbing with every heart beat.

"Assico, potion," cried a voice from above her head. Hermione couldn't recognize who it had come from.

Her father, still standing above her, looking down with disdain, kept swimming in and out of focus, at times there seemed to be five of him glaring at her.

Hermione barely heard the soft foot falls of another pair of feet, though when the figure stepped on her hand, Hermione became fully aware that there was someone nearby and let them know with a hoarse scream of pain.

"Oh poor baby death eater," chuckled a voice over her head darkly. "Lucius, three drops should bring her around fully, and if not a good imperious curse should do the trick."

The pain in her hand was becoming nothing short of a death sentence and as Hermione's mouth opened wider in a silent scream she felt three drops of something trickle down her throat.

The pain ceased as soon as the liquid hit the back of her throat. Hermione's eyes focused on the three faces still swimming slightly above her.

The red eyes caught her attention at once, and she struggled weakly to get to her hands and knees, where she fell to her forearms and cried, "My Lord, I swear, I will not let you or Father down again."

"I hope you have learned your lesson, Hermione," purred the cold voice, "because that was just a taste. It could, _should,_ have been a much worse. And next time, I will not show you any mercy."

"Thank you my Lord, you are too kind," sobbed Hermione at his feet.

"I expect better from you in the future. May this serve as a lesson to never disobey me again. Now be gone from my sight or I may decide to let Bella have some fun," whispered the cold, emotionless voice.

There was a shriek of laughter and Hermione raised her head just in time to receive a kick from a leather clad foot, which sent her sprawling.

Hermione used what was left of her failing strength to try and stand, but felt her knees give, sending her crashing back to the ground.

"My Lord, it doesn't look like _my_ daughter," said a drawling voice, "will be able to apperate on her own. Perhaps a portkey could take her back to Hogwarts, if I may."

"Yes, do that," demanded the cold, high voice. "Get her out of my sight."

"Yes, my Lord. Portus."

Hermione was aware of the cold floor and of something cold and hard thrust into her hand, before the sensation of being pulled from the navel entered into her mind.

With a thump, Hermione hit the grass ground outside the gates of Hogwarts and collapsed on impact, though not with out feeling the millions of breaks and pains come spiraling back to her. With a scream that tore her already bloody throat, she blacked out.

* * *

Hermione woke, what must have been hours later, to find herself still sprawling out in the dew filled grass. Every muscle ached and her fingers had turned black.

Moaning, she struggled to flip herself onto her back, where she gave a hoarse scream from landing on her left arm. She opened her watering eyes to gaze up into the stars twinkling above her.

Hermione tried to free her mind of pain, as tears ran down her face. She needed to get her wand out of her robe and send for help. She didn't know how much longer she could stay conscious after all the blood she had lost, and, looking at her left hand, she wasn't surprised to see it almost cut in two, blood still flowing steadily from it.

Using what little she could of her right hand she managed to work her wand out of her pocket. Performing a patronus was going to be another matter entirely.

Hermione started by trying to clear her mind, which was becoming exceedingly more difficult as her hands started to throb once more. So, in hopes of a better result, Hermione focused on the one person whom she wanted help from, the one person that she would pay anything to see.

She was successful at bring the picture to the front of her mind. Now to hope this would be enough and get the wand movements correct. Hermione figured that she only had one chance at this before she passed out again.

Using what little strength she still possessed, Hermione raised her right arm out in front of her and with a swish muttered, "Expecto Patronum."

Hermione's head fell back and, through half closed eyes, she watched as a silver fox looked mournfully back at her before turning and running full speed through the gates and up to the castle.

The last through to cross Hermione's mind was, "Well that doesn't look like an otter," before she passed out, wand rolling out of her black and blue fingers.

* * *

Snape sat, bleary-eyed, as he stared into the dancing flames in the hearth. Looking down at his watch he became increasingly more worried. Why hadn't she returned yet? Was the Dark Lord keeping her there, where ever he had called her? Or had Lucius Bastard Malfoy taken her back to his lair of a mansion?

Snape poured himself another glass of fire whisky. The bottle that had been full was now two-thirds empty.

Snape looked back down at his watch; it hadn't changed. Looking back up into the fire, he thought about what he had done before entering his chambers. He had increased the wards sensitivity so that it would alert him if she apperated or appeared within ten feet of the wards. But what if she had apperated outside of that ten feet?

He shuddered at the thought; he had stood by the gates for almost two hours, waiting, before deciding to trust the wards.

Swirling the drink in his hand Snape downed it before throwing the glass into the hearth, where it shattered into thousands of pieces on impact.

He was just about to get a book off the book case when he was distracted by a silver mist coming in from the door. Snape thought it looked like a dog, but as it neared he noticed that it moved more like a cat then a dog and as it came to a stop in front of him, Snape realized that it was a fox.

The fox looked up at him with a warm, curious expression, before it turned and headed back towards the painting, where it stopped again, turned back to look at him and then continued to walk through the painting.

Snape stood stock still. "Those eyes," thought Snape. They were just like her…eyes.

Snape snapped almost fully out of his drunken state when that realization hit; turning, he ran down to his lab to grab a solution that would fully sober him. Once that had been downed and the bottle thrown aside, Snape ran full out, throwing the painting open with a crash, robes whipping behind him.

His pace quickened as he reached the grounds, the moon shining brightly over head illuminating his path. He could almost see the gates, though they were a mile away.

Ripping his wand out of his sleeve, Snape undid the wards as he ran, faster then he had ever run before, down towards the gates. Which, upon being reached, flung open of their own accord, almost as if they had sensed Snape's urgency and need to reach the other side.

There, only twenty feet away, lay a lump on the usually flat landscape.

Snape withdrew the few potion vials that he kept in his robes for emergencies as he rushed over to the girl's side.

Snape's eyes widened as he looked over her. Her jaw looked swollen shut, eyes black and blue stood out on her normally pail face, which was now covered in blood. As Snape knelt down by his student he noticed a wet sensation seeping in through his robes, and looking down noticed the puddle of blood, glistening sickly in the moon light.

"Fuck," whispered Snape, as he stared down horrified. "What the hell did that bastard do to you, Hermione."

* * *

Awe, touching ending isn't it. PLEASE REVIEW!

For some reason I can't reply to my reviewers anymore so I would like to thank all of them again and I'm going to try to reply to the reviews on a different computer to see if that will help.

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	5. Ch 5 Twisted Fate

Chapter Five

Twisted Fate

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Disclaimer: What can I say, I'm not J.K Rowling. Every night I rub a random lamp in the house, hoping that it is magic, and every night I die a little when a genie doesn't pop out. Wish one would to be J.K. Rowling, not her exactly, but to be the one who came up with her idea. Wish two would be for world peace (okay it probably wouldn't be my second wish, but it would make my top fifty.) and wish three would be for an unlimited amount of wishes.

A/N: I got tired of writing Author's Note, so now I'm just abbreviating. Am I lazy, no. Do I like to use my time wisely, yes. Though you could make the argument that this is wasting time, but people who make that argument should be shot twice in the foot, yes it's dramatic, but now none of you will make that argument. HaHA! For those of you that DID review last chapter you will be able to make a wish through me that I will relay to my genie. Those of you who didn't, well my genie knows where you live. MAHAHAHaa… Sigh, I have no life. Oh well here's chapter 6, ENJOY AND _REVIEW_!

Note: I changed the password that Hermione uses to get in to Snape's chambers, I don't know what I was thinking the first time, sigh. The new password in mon enfer, which is French and loosely means "my hell".

A special thanks to pointblank1 who not only edited this chapter in record time, but also on vacation. So everyone should thank her. And tell her that she's super SUPER awesome!

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_Snape's eyes widened as he looked over her. Her jaw looked swollen shut, eyes black and blue stood out on her normally pale face, which was now covered in blood. As Snape knelt down by his student he noticed a wet sensation seeping in through his robes, and looking down noticed the puddle of blood, glistening sickly in the moonlight._

"_Fuck," whispered Snape, as he stared down horrified. "What the hell did that bastard do to you, Hermione?"_

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_Dear Hermione, _

_Ron and I are just having trouble adjusting, I hope you understand that. We're not necessarily mad at you (well, I'm not). I'm just surprised at the information, that's all. Ron, well he just feels like he is always the last one to know everything. Once he decides to be angry, it's hard to stop him- you know what Ron can be like. Remember when I became the fourth Triwizard champion? Ron wouldn't talk to me until the end of the first task. I think that's what this situation is like. He'll get over it, eventually. _

_Hermione, I just want to let you know that what ever you say I'll trust you. If you just found out about your heritage and the Malfoys, then I believe that you didn't know before. If you want to embrace them as family, I won't hold it against you, but you know perfectly well I couldn't remain friends with you. But if, like I think, you don't want anything to do with them, then I will be here to help you deal with the situation at hand. _

_And Hermione, I hope to see you in Diagon Alley later this summer so that we can talk further._

_Sincerely Yours,_

_Harry _

_P.S. All the rest of the Weasleys believe you. Mrs. Weasley asked me to invite you to stay here at the Burrow. You're more than welcome to come here, and it may help Ron realize that you're still the same person. _

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In a daze, Snape pulled out his wand and kneeled next to the girl. In the dark it was hard to see the extent of her injuries, even with an illuminated wand, but the fact that she was unconscious was enough to confirm that she had a severe loss of blood. Unfortunately there wasn't much he could do without sufficient light, and besides, they were completely out in the open. The amount of magic required to heal even some of her injuries could attract unwanted attention -- magical or even nonmagical.

With a flick of his wand, Snape conjured up a stretcher and carefully levitated the girl onto it.

Snape guided the stretcher over the castle grounds and then up the castle steps. As soon as he stepped into the light of the castle, he swore again. The girl's bruises gave her a somewhat leopard-like appearance. The intensity of the bruising suggested a few broken bones and possibly deep tissue damage.

By the time Snape reached his quarters the sun was already starting to break the horizon. Of course, neither Snape nor Hermione saw any of this. But as the sun rose above the grounds, it illuminated a thin line of glistening red blood droplets that led from the gate to the castle. The blood mixed in with the morning dew and was lost in the grass.

Snape levitated the girl into his quarters and up the stairs. Because of Hermione's critical condition, Snape decided to take her to his room and lay her on his bed so that he would not only be able to monitor her more easily, but he would also be closer to his supply of potions. He would transfigure a chair in the neighboring room in which to sleep.

Once he had settled the girl onto his bed he started to evaluate the extent of her injuries. The most obvious was the broken hand, with blood still seeping from it. From what little of the hand that Snape could see, the hand looked black from bruising.

Snape drew out his wand and was just about to start cleaning blood of off the girl's hand when someone cleared their throat behind him.

Snape swiveled on the spot and who was standing in the doorway but Albus Meddlesome Dumbledore.

"What do you want, Headmaster?" snapped Snape. "I am quite busy right now and don't have time for a chat and a lemon drop." Snape turned back to the girl and started to silently remove the dried and drying blood.

"Severus, I'm not here to offer you a lemon drop -- though you are, no doubt, in need of one," sighed Dumbledore. "I merely saw you coming up the grounds with Miss Malfoy on a stretcher and wondered if there was anything I could do to help."

"Unless you can go kill the Dark Lord, no, I can't use your help," said Snape, his voice bitter and sarcastic. "That snake is torturing her as if she'd snatched the Elixir of Life from him."

"Believe me, Severus, I'm trying as hard as I can to bring Tom to justice. But, like you said, he is much like a snake, able to squeeze and manipulate his way out of tight spaces. Along with checking on Miss Malfoy, I also wanted to tell you that I've discovered a lead of some great importance. I will be away from the castle for a few days, hopefully no more than a week."

Snape just nodded quietly as he cleared away the final specks of blood on the girl's hand, and with a flick of his wand he sealed the gashes. The bleeding, however, wouldn't stop. The gashes reopened and fresh blood poured once more from her hand. Snape cursed violently and Dumbledore moved from the doorway to Snape's side. The Headmaster peered through his half moon spectacles down at the girl's hand.

"This was not done by Tom," whispered Dumbledore. "He prefers the Cruciatus Curse over other methods of torture."

Through clenched teeth Snape said, "This was done by Malfoy, I've seen him use it before. He only varies from the Cruciatus Curse when it's something personal. He used the Effrego Manus Curse on her. Not only does it break every bone in her hand and wrist, that's only half of the problem. The curse cannot be healed by anyone other than the victim. She must heal it herself."

Dumbledore's eye's moved from the girl's hand to the other injuries, "As bad as her hand is, let us mend her broken ribs and handle what looks like a concussion. Then we can return to her hand. I'll put a time charm around it in order to slow the bleeding for now."

Snape moved and positioned himself at the girl's head while Dumbledore moved over her chest.

Using his right hand, Snape, felt carefully around the girl's head in order to check for any visible signs of swelling. With his left hand he cast a revealing spell that worked like a medical scanning device, showing him any damage that might have occurred to the brain. Her frontal lobe showed signs of a slight concussion, but nothing that would cause more than a bad headache.

"I'm finished here, Headmaster, if you wish I can take over mending her ribs."

"That won't be necessary, Severus, I'm already done. Thankfully, both ribs were a nice clean break and there were very few splinters to worry about. She should feel as good as new as far as her ribs are concerned."

Snape grimaced as he turned his attention to the girl's hand. Even with the charm, the hand still bled slowly from various cuts and gashes.

"She needs to rest in order for her brain to recover from the shock of the concussion," whispered Snape. "I've taken the pressure off by reducing the swelling, but the body is its own best cure. I can only give her so many potions to assist her."

Dumbledore stood up and headed for the door. "Severus, I need to be off, the castle is in your hands while I'm away."

"May I ask where you are going, Headmaster? Or is this another one of your secret missions that I, your spy, who not only lies for you, but informs you of the Dark Lord's plans, at great personal risk, am not privileged enough to be informed of?" Snape hissed.

"Severus," sighed Dumbledore, "I've been through this with you before, I will only tell you what you need to know in order to help the Order. If the Dark Lord were to even get a glimpse of what I am doing then all hope would be lost. In time I may tell you, but even now, it's only guesswork."

Snape stood up and strode over to his potions cabinet. He retrieved two bottles with out so much as glancing at them. His eyes then briefly lingered on the smallest vial in the cabinet, Veritaserum, and a small dark part of his mind shouted in agreement. He had a right to know, didn't he? To answer his own question, Snape slammed the cabinet door and turned stiffly back to the girl laying on his bed, ignoring the Headmaster completely.

Kneeling down by the girl's bed, Snape uncorked the first bottle and, with his free hand, he gently opened her mouth. Even though he was never one to break awkward silences, Snape started speaking to no one in particular. "I'm going to first give her a vial of dreamless sleep in order to take any unwanted pressure off her mind. It should help her body heal itself if her rest is not troubled by nightmares."

He carefully poured the entire potion into the girl's mouth and made her swallow with his wand.

"Severus, you need to be careful with that. Voldemort may realize you've intervened if Miss Malfoy has no nightmares. She is already going to show signs of rapid healing," said Dumbledore in a suddenly strict voice.

"Would you have me leave her in a hell of nightmares, Headmaster?" asked Snape coolly. "She has suffered quite enough for tonight, and I'm sure she will relive it all over again in her dreams. I wouldn't wish that on many people, Headmaster, certainly not her."

"As touching as that is, Severus, I would like you to be able to keep your position at Tom's side as long as possible."

"Maybe," said Snape in a deadly quiet voice, "I'm done being our lap dog and running your errands. Maybe I would rather report to the Dark Lord and the Dark Lord alone." Even as he said it, Snape knew his threat sounded pathetically empty.

"And destroy all Lily did to try and finish him?" replied Dumbeldore, sounding just as calm as before. "Would you kill Harry yourself or just bring him to Tom's knees?"

"Enough," snapped Snape as he slammed down the bottle of blood replenishing solution on the bedside table. "I tire of this, Headmaster. Please leave my quarters before I am forced to throw you out. Go on your little quest, but do not expect me to eagerly await your return."

"Severus, I just want you to be aware of the danger, nothing more or less. If she suffers from horrible nightmares in order to help our cause, Lily's cause, then it will not be much of a loss. When I return, I'll help you restore your faith in me. Just be aware, Severus, that Tom never rests."

"I know that as well as anyone, Headmaster," Snape whispered, his glare deadly. "But you have tested my patience long enough tonight. Please leave. Now."

Snape turned away from the Headmaster and kneeled down once more at the girl's side. He retrieved the replenishing potion from its spot on the table. Uncorking the bottle, he poured the second potion down her throat and repeated the wand movements to get her to swallow, before setting the bottle back down on the table.

He stared at the last bottle of blood replenishing potion in his stores and tried to decide what would be better, to steal some from the hospital wing or to brew another batch. With the girl needing the potion in regular intervals until her hand healed, his only option would be to steal a few bottles and then brew up the rest.

After checking to make sure the girl was relatively stable, Snape left his quarters, but only after placing a charm on the girl that would alert him to any drastic changes in her condition.

The castle was dead silent, as he made his way up to the hospital wing, but Snape expected no different; few teachers stuck around long once term had ended. He didn't really blame them, he himself would eventually have to return to his own house on Spinner's End. He didn't really like the prospect, but he had no choice. Staying in the castle all summer would look suspicious, even to Death Eaters who weren't already suspicious of him.

Snape realized as he neared the hospital wing door that he would have to return home fairly soon. His list of excuses was running thin. The girl would have to come too, there would be no way around that. He had to keep an eye on her.

The door to the hospital wing was not locked, but that didn't surprise Snape. What did, however, was the light that came from the door as he opened it. Was Poppy back already from her break, or was someone else here that needing potions or medical care? Snape cautiously drew out his wand and casually held it out in front of him. With his free hand, he opened the door further and stepped in.

From what he could see there was no one in the room. All the beds were empty and there was no sign that anyone had been there. Snape silently cast a revealing charm and waited to see if it would reveal anyone. When a glowing red orb appeared at the tip of his wand, he drew it higher and griped the wand tighter. Someone was definitely in the area. Whether the mystery person was hiding in this room or in the office, Snape wasn't quite sure.

Snape moved farther into the room and walked slowly towards the office at the back. As he neared each set of beds, he silently cast revealing charms to make sure no one was waiting to ambush him. Although he had an inkling that whoever was in here was in the office, Snape would have been a fool if he didn't check each set of beds to make sure.

As Snape closed in on the office door, he noticed that it had been left ajar and that there were lights on inside. With the tip of his wand he carefully edged the door open. To his annoyance, Snape found Lucius Malfoy leaning lightly on his cane and standing in the center of the room with a slightly disgusted look on his face.

"For a man who is not only in bad favor with the Dark Lord, but thought to be locked away in Azkaban, I would have thought that coming to Hogwarts would be the last stop on your To Do list," sneered Snape.

"Oh, I would hate to be caught by that Muggle-loving fool and sent to Azkaban," drawled Lucius. "But since he appears to be away at the moment, I don't think I have anyone to fear."

"So you still have that poor assistant to Madame Hobkins under the Imperius Curse and taking my polyjuice potion?"

"You get the Daily Prophet, Severus, and they haven't yet reported anything about an escaped Death Eater, so you should be quite assured that the curse and the potion are still holding. My only concern now is what the Dark Lord is planning to do with Draco."

"The Dark Lord has told you of a plan?" asked Snape.

Lucius walked over to the door and closed it with the head of his cane. He then pulled out his black wand and put a silencing spell on the doors and windows.

Not looking at Snape, but rather out the window, Lucius put his wand back in his cane and whispered, "I know that the Dark Lord still hasn't forgotten about the Ministry fiasco. He plans to make me pay for that unfortunate day. I'm sure he plans to involve Draco in a plan of some sort, but I don't know exactly what."

"And you were hoping I would know," added Snape in an undertone. "You would have me betray the Dark Lord's trust by telling you, when he hasn't yet told you himself. I'm sorry that you think so little of me."

"Then you do know?" whispered Lucius hopefully. "He does have something in store for Draco!"

Snape raised an eyebrow, "You jump to conclusions too quickly, Lucius. No, the Dark Lord has not yet told me about any plans involving Draco."

There was silence, and Snape tried to calculate how long he had been away from the girl on his bed. He needed to get back to her. She would be needing more of the blood replenishing potion shortly.

In a cool voice Snape asked, "Is that all, Lucius? I am a very busy man, and unlike some, I have things to do, things that can't wait. If I hear anything about Draco that the Dark Lord wants me to share with you, then I will share it."

"I was," said Lucius, "supposed to check on my dear daughter. The Dark Lord had a slight change of heart," Lucius smirked, "and he wanted to make sure that she, at least, made it to the castle alive."

"Miss Malfoy," Snape said in an uncaring voice that he didn't feel, "Barely made it to the gates before collapsing, she is in my quarters recovering. I thought it wise not to scare the nurse if she came back early, and this way I won't have to trek all the way up here every time she needs a potion. Not that she deserves that."

"No," drawled Lucius absent mindedly, "no she doesn't, that little witch has brought more disgrace to me in one day than our entire family combined."

"Pity," sighed Snape as he tried to keep his emotions at bay.

"What?" snapped Lucius.

"It's a pity," said Snape slowly, "That she brought so much disgrace to your family. I would guess it would come from not being raised in a proper family. Now, Lucius, like I said before, I need to be going."

"Yes, fine. Goodbye, Severus. Make sure that my daughter doesn't bring more disgrace to my family," said Lucius as he walked past Snape and opened the door where he paused, "or she might not be lucky enough to survive the next time she passes through those gates."

Lucius left in a swirl of black traveling cloak and white, silvery hair. The hospital wing doors slammed loudly as they were blasted open and forced shut after bouncing off of the walls.

Snape turned on his heel without a second glance and walked over to the medical cabinet where, thanks to him, all the potions were arranged alphabetically. Snape quickly found the potion he needed, grabbed the remaining bottles and quickly and silently noted potions that were either running low or gone.

Snape left the hospital wing at a swift walk that to many appeared to be his usually floating gait, but unlike walking in a hall full of students, Snape was walking fast to get to a student, not away.

As Snape drew nearer and nearer to his quarters, his pace quickened. His heart beat louder and louder and his anxiety grew. In the pit of his stomach he felt that he needed to hurry and get to his room, to the girl.

He was just passing the Great Hall and headed for the dungeons when there was a lightning sharp pain originating from his left arm. Snape almost dropped the bottles of blood replenishing potion that he was carrying. His arm throbbed a second time, almost warning-like. He froze, suddenly unsure of what he should do; go to the girl or his dark master.

If the girl hadn't been in such critical condition then it wouldn't have been a problem, but he still had no choice, he set the potion bottles down, summoned his mask and cloak, and turned on his heel once more. The sooner he was done, the faster he could get back.

As he ran he shouted, "Winky!"

There was a crack and a squeak as the house elf appeared before being trampled by Snape. The house elf quickly recovered and scurried alongside Snape as his fast stride took him across the grounds. "Master called?" squeaked Winky.

"Yes Winky, I need you to take some vials that I left by the doorway to the dungeons. Miss Hermione Malfoy is lying on my bed in my quarters. Give her one of the vials every hour until I return. If there is any change in her condition please alert me at once. You remember how I had you do it the last time?"

"Yes, Master, Winky remembers how Master wishes to be alerted." The house elf trotted behind Snape as the gates started to come into view.

"Very good, Winky," said Snape more kindly, "Now go. Watch over her for me, I'll try not to be long."

There was a crack and Snape knew he was alone once more. He used his time to strengthen the wards that protected the castle and the grounds, he made it so only he and Dumbledore could enter the grounds and castle. Everyone else would meet resistance and pain.

Only when he had reached the apparation point did Snape stop running. He quickly calmed his mind and his breathing. He wouldn't be late because he had run the whole way. It would have at least made up for his hesitation. Finally, when his breathing had finally slowed, he apparated into the darkening night.

With a swish of his Death Eater's cloak, he appeared, this time in the Malfoy Manor. He was glad he hadn't donned his mask, it would have been foolish to arrive that way for a social call.

As a house elf took his cloak, he smoothly removed his wand from the cloak that he was handing off and, just as smoothly, slipped it up the left sleeve of his robes.

He set off in the direction of the Lucius's study, it was the most protected room in his house, due mainly to the fact that it hid the doorway that led to his cabin-sized safe.

As he approached, the polished oak doors slid open, apparently of their own accord. Snape entered, head held in a slight bow, as he headed for the grandest of the chairs that sat by the car-sized fireplace.

"My Lord, you called?" asked Snape slowly as he approached.

"Yes, Severus I did. I have matters of great importance that I wish to discuss with you," replied the cold voice in a hiss. "Sit, Severus, we are alone for now, though I'm sure, if you wanted something to drink, I could get Lucius to bring us something."

"No, My Lord, I'm fine. I was just sitting down to enjoy some firewhiskey when you called," The lie came naturally to Snape as he moved to sit across from his master. The red eyes danced with the light from the fireplace as they penetrated his mind, pulling apart events and conversations.

"Very well, Severus," and with a wave of Voldemort's hand the doors to the study slid silently shut. "As you are well aware, Draco turns seventeen next year, which means he is ready to receive his task. I'm sure you remember the task that you were set when Lucius brought you before me. Draco's will be similar in the fact that he must take out his target; only then will I truly know whether or not he is worthy of becoming a Death Eater."

"My I ask who his target is, my Lord?" If Snape would have allowed it, his heartbeat would have accelerated, but any change might appear suspicious, so Snape calmed himself before another thought of a certain girl sprang to his mind. Time was running out. He had no choice, however; he had to stay where he was.

"You may, Severus. It's the main reason that I have called you here, for it somewhat concerns you and your position," the red eyes glinted maliciously.

"How so, my Lord?" Severus couldn't help it when his heart skipped a beat. He was becoming nervous and the stress he was already under, was causing him to lose control of his emotions, not good. Snape focused on calming himself as the Dark Lord answered.

The Dark Lord smiled, which, unlike Dumbledore's smile, did not have any warmth or reassurance in it. "Severus, you are my most loyal Death Eater. This shouldn't be anything that you can't handle. Draco's task is to kill Albus Dumbledore."

The name floated around the room as the Dark Lord hissed each syllable.

Thinking fast, Snape spoke, "Master, wouldn't I be better placed to do that? I could do it whenever you wished. You wouldn't have to depend on an underage wizard to do it for you."

"No. Draco must prove himself worthy of his Dark Mark. I want him responsible for killing Dumbledore. You, of course, will take over as Headmaster once the idiot is finally dead."

Snape offered a smirk, "My Lord, that would be a great honor indeed." Snape wasn't sure if he could deal with any more stress. Draco having to kill Dumbledore was the least of his worries as time seemed to continue to fly by.

Severus stared into the fire and in an uncaring voice asked, "Have you informed Draco yet? Or will you wait for the school year to draw nearer?"

"No, I will tell Draco soon. He will need to plan before the year starts." The Dark Lord paused before staring intensely at Snape, making the hair on his neck stand on end. "He is to have no help, Severus, if he wants to save his family, he will do this alone."

"Yes, my lord, I understand." Severus stared into the depths of the fireplace. The dark lord did not forgive easily, his grudges lasted long and he never forgot.

"Unless you have anything to discuss, you may go."

"There is one thing my Lord, I plan on moving to my house in Spinner's End soon. And I was wondering what you wanted me to do with the girl?" Snape asked carefully.

"You would take the girl with you or are you tired of her already?" The red eyes blazed. "I could arrange for Bella and Rudolphus to take her."

"So far, the girl is tolerable," Snape smirked. "She is trying to be the Malfoy that she knows she is. And she does have her uses." All of a sudden Snape felt a hot burning coming on his side. Snape skipped his hand into his pocket and felt the stone in his pocket burning. The girl was in trouble. Snape pushed her out of his mind. It couldn't be much longer now.

Voldemort's eyes flashed, and for a moment Snape feared for his life. Then the Dark Lord spoke. "Yes, good. I thought that you may be hard on her, but that doesn't seem to be the case," whispered the cold voice.

A chill went up Snape's spine at the words. "My lord, I don't understand what you mean."

"Severus, don't lie to me." The Dark Lord slammed his hand into a wooden table, startling Snape slightly. "Something has happened. Maybe her lesson was difficult, but she needed to be taught her place. Do not assist her again."

"Yes, my Lord, as you wish."

"Leave now."

"Yes, my Lord, thank you."

Snape bent forward and kissed the hem of the Dark Lord's sleeve before he headed for the door, the stone still burning in his pocket. The door opened and, as he walked out, he quickened his pace. The mansion seemed too big, the hallways too long and the door wasn't near enough.

He was just heading towards the front door, only feet away from it, when a soft voice from behind him broke him out of his pace.

"Leaving without even a glass with the host. Where are your manners, Severus?"

"Good evening, Lucius," Snape paused and turned around to see the tall silhouette of the man standing in the doorway to his parlor. "Normally I would have loved to stay, but I have important matters to attend to."

"It can wait Severus, come join me for a glass of wine, or firewhisky if you would prefer."

"No, Lucius, I have a potion simmering, and it can't wait much longer. And I would really hate for it to ruin, it's taken me months to get it to its current stage."

"Very well," said Lucius with a sigh. "Maybe next time."

"Yes," replied Snape. "Tell Narcissa that the garden looks wonderful."

Lucius looked slightly abated as he said, "I'll be sure to tell her, she will be thrilled that you noticed. That garden is her pride and joy."

Snape nodded, turned and left, only stopping by the door to pick up his cloak.

As Snape left the mansion behind, he couldn't hurry fast enough to get off the property so that he could apparate back to Hogwarts. When he had cleared the gates Snape appareated without a second glance at the mansion behind him.

* * *

Tensions were running high at the Malfoy Manor. This had been the first time that the Dark Lord had visited the mansion in a very long time, and all the residents of the mansion knew why he was there. Though Lucius Malfoy had escaped Azkaban, he might as well have stayed, considering the imprisonment that he had to deal with in his own house.

Lucius Malfoy had suffered from his failure at the Ministry; he hadn't felt such pain and witnessed such fury since his early days as a Death Eater. And Lucius was well aware that the Dark Lord was not through yet. Lucius was sure he had something up his sleeve, and even though Narcissa disagreed, Lucius was sure that what ever the plan was, it concerned his son.

Lucius paced in front of the fireplace in the parlor, a glass of firewhiskey in one hand and his cane in the other.

"Lucius, calm down," whispered Narcissa. "Come have dinner with everyone in the foyer. Bella made sure that the cook made the roast the way you like it."

"As tempting as that sounds," snapped Lucius, "I must wait for the Dark Lord."

The door to the foyer opened and out came Narcissa's sister, Bellatrix.

"Lucius, the Dark Lord will tell you when he wishes to speak to you. Until then come and sit down, I would hate to see the roast wasted because it was left to cool."

Lucius looked from one sister to the other, turned, and sat in a chair by the fireplace. "I would prefer to wait, thank you, Bellatrix."

Bellatrix let out an exasperated sigh and turned away, muttering, "And I tortured that man to get the roast right all day when I could have just let him ruin it like he was going to."

Narcissa looked from the door, to the foyer, to her husband, "Lucius, come eat something, the food will not taste as good reheated and I know you wouldn't want to eat it then."

Lucius was fed up, "Enough about the blasted roast! Where's Draco? I haven't seen him since breakfast this morning."

Taken aback, Narcissa answered, "He wouldn't come down to dinner either. He's in his room studying, I believe."

Lucius nodded and stood up. He left the room to find some peace away from the Malfoy women.

Just as he had walked into the foyer, a cold voice spoke, "Draco, I wish to speak to you."

Lucius paused for a second before sighing and moving to the dining table. Nacissa hadn't moved; she stood still next to her chair looking blankly at it like it didn't belong there. She had chosen to believe that her husband had been wrong, but he had been right, the Dark Lord had something planned for her son.

* * *

The Dark Lord waited by the fire as the wooden door creaked open and in came the youngest Malfoy. Draco would choose who had to die; there were three choices: the boy, his family or Albus Dumbledore. "Draco," the Dark Lord hissed, "come."

The boy slowly crossed the room, stopped briefly, and moved to sit in the chair. The boy perched on the edge of his chair, eagerness and worry all etched in his face. The boy had a right to be worried about what Voldemort, the most dangerous wizard in the world, was about to ask him.

"Draco, you will soon become of age. It's time that you received your mark and completed your first task. You do not seem to be as eager to take the mark as your sister was, however. Do I sense reluctance from you?"

"No, my Lord, I'm sorry if I seem anxious. I'm ready, I've been ready for years. All I need are instructions," The boy moved further to the front of his seat. He couldn't go any further without falling off the chair.

"You remind me of your father many years ago, Draco. He took his task in stride, willing to do whatever I asked. Are you going to be the same way, or are you going to be like those other, lesser death eaters that cannot handle responsibility, like your father has become?"

"I- my father is- I know I can do it if you trust me," the boy kneeled in front of him, head bowed. The boy then turned his face towards the Dark Lord. "What is my task?"

The Dark Lord looked down at the boy as the fire light danced across his face. "Give me your arm."

Draco stretched out his left arm. The Dark Lord slowly grabbed hold of the boy's wrist. With his free hand he grabbed his wand from the table and pushed the boy's sleeve back. The boy's skin was pearly white and shone in the dim light. "Draco, do you swear to obey me before anyone else?"

"Yes," the boy's voice was horse. "I swear."

"Will you forever be loyal to me, respond when summoned, and do the work of a true Death Eater?"

"Yes."

"Then Draco, I give you your mark," the Dark Lord tightened his grip on the boy's wrist and jabbed his wand into the boy's forearm. "Morsmordra!"

The Dark Lord had to tighten his grip as the shock of the pain hit the boy, as he twisted and screamed. He smirked; the boy was exactly like his father. The black lines were burning their way across Draco's arm, permanently scarring the perfectly pale skin. The door to the room was pushed roughly open and without even looking, the Dark Lord knew who had entered and he screamed, "Be gone, he must do this alone!"

The Dark Lord grinned as the boy started to black out. The boy had never felt real pain, doing this was overwhelming for him. When the spell finished its work the boy lay panting on the floor. "Get up," whispered the Dark Lord.

Draco struggled to his knees, trying to fight back the tears welling in his eyes.

"Now, Draco, like your sister, you will have to wait to get your mask and cloak. Only when you have successfully completed your task will you be allowed them. Now, to your task."

The boy looked up, eyes bright, mouth set.

"Your task is to kill Albus Dumbledore," said the voice maliciously.

A flicker of fear and doubt flashed across the boy's face and for a moment he seemed very young, but it vanished quickly, "Yes, my Lord, it will be done." His voice was barely a whisper.

"Good, Draco, good," whispered the menacing voice. "Now, you are to tell no one outside of your family of your task. It would be a pity for you to make the same mistake that your sister made. Though you may tell your family, you are to accept help from no one, the consequences of this would be," the Dark Lord paused and smiled, "unfortunate. If you wish to see your parents this summer I would work hard on succeeding. Failure would mean certain death for them."

"Yes, my Lord," murmured the boy. The boy's face was hidden in shadow, but the Dark Lord heard the sharp intake of breath.

"Go now, tell your parents of what we have talked about, all except their involvement. They will not know about that, it will be our secret. Don't keep them waiting, they are dying to hear what it is that I wanted with you."

Draco bent and kissed the hem of the Dark Lord's robe before standing and walking swiftly to the door. Once outside, he was tempted to break into a run, not to go and tell his parents, but to get away from it all. Was the Mark worth it? The Dark Lord expected him to kill Albus Dumbledore, one of the greatest wizards of all time, when he had yet to do it himself? Draco had a feeling it was more a death sentence than a task. He had a feeling that he wasn't meant to succeed.

Draco rolled up his sleeve as he walked down the torch lit hall; the Mark glowed on his red skin. He had wanted this for as long as he could remember; he had been told that it was the greatest honor to get it, but he had never, entirely, connected the mark with what would be expected of him. If he succeeded in his task, unlikely though it was, he would be the greatest Death Eater ever, better than his father or even Professor Snape. The thought made him smile as he rolled his sleeve back down.

He walked silently to the foyer. Outside the door, he could hear the buzz of chatter going on and the clinking of expensive knives and forks. Draco slowly pushed the door open, and there was complete silence.

He walked around the head of the table with a slight nod to his father before sitting down across from his mother. Draco waited for the house elves to fill his plate with food and leave before talking. As the house elves left, Draco turned to his father and spoke, "Father, he gave me the Mark." Draco rolled up his sleeve and presented his father with his arm.

Lucius smirked, somewhat relieved and that his son hadn't received anything else. "Draco, this is good news. You do this family great honor."

"Unlike that half-blood sister of yours," spat Bellatrix to Draco's left. Narcissa sniffed loudly, not at all comfortable with the mention of that girl.

"Indeed," drawled Lucius before taking a sip from his wine glass. "She still needs to be taught her place. She will learn it soon."

Bellatrix smiled a very predatory smile, "If you would allow me, Lucius, I could teach her."

"She would never walk away from tha, Bella," said Lucius calmly.

Bellatrix laughed, "You know me too well, Lucius. I wouldn't be THAT hard on her, she does have the Mark and is part Malfoy. The Dark Lord wouldn't be pleased if I killed her," she sighed. "Unfortunately, he has big plans for her -- or so he has told me."

Narcissa, not enjoying talk about that girl at all, looked from her sister to her son, who was only eating very small bites of food and not engaged in the conversation. "Draco," she spoke softly. All other conversation dropped. "You seemed occupied."

Draco looked up into his mother's face. His heart beat faster. His poor mother had been through so much already. The news of his task might be too much.

Bellatrix broke the moment, "You've been assigned a task. What is it? What is the Dark Lord having you do, Draco?"

All eyes were once again on him. Draco only met his mother's eyes, which were filled with worry. In a soft voice he said, "The Dark Lord wishes me to kill Albus Dumbledore."

Draco did not see, but his father frowned slightly at the news while his aunt smiled, eyes bright, proud of her nephew. The only person that Draco noticed was his mother.

Narcissa let out a gasp, her eyes widening with horror and disbelief. Her son, her precious son, would have to commit murder.

* * *

Okay hope you liked it. Have a Happy Fourth of July and make my Fourth of July and REVIEW.

FYI: Effrego Manus means breaking hand in Latin.

Thank you again, all of you who reviewed my last chapter and THANK YOU pointblank1 for editing my chapter. You asked for more commas and I gave them to you, so be careful what you wish for.


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